The Iron Hyuuga
by Nate Grey
Summary: Hyuuga tradition places heavy demands on the clan's heirs.  But the daughter of Neji and Tenten is far more interested in fun, family, friends, and a different kind of strength.  Sequel to White Dog Night.
1. Auntie Hanabi

Disclaimer: Hyuuga Irihi and Aburame Shinju belong to me, all other characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Notes: This miniseries will be centered Hyuuga Irihi. If you don't know who she is, be sure to read the warning that follows.

Warning: This story follows my Naruto fanfic "White Dog Night" and all it's companions. A more detailed list is in my profile, but in case you found this story without going through my author page, I'll list them here, too. Keep in mind that the timeline jumps between stories quite a bit (all the more reason to read my profile, then the stories listed there, and to pay attention to the warnings in every chapter).

**White Dog Night & Hyuuga Secret Arts**

**Building Clan Uzumaki**

**Shadow in the Sun & Hokage Climbing**

**Rise of the Rokudaime**

So no complaining you don't know what's going on if you didn't bother to read the stories that come before this one. If you ask me a question that's answered in one of them, I'll be a jerk and tell you I've answered it without saying which story it's in. Well, probably not, but you should still read them all before you get to this one.

Summary: The Hyuuga clan head formally meets her young heir. But neither one is prepared for what they will take away from this meeting.

* * *

**The Iron Hyuuga**

**Part 1: Auntie Hanabi**

**A Naruto Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

Life was very odd sometimes.

Hyuuga Hanabi had always preferred to avoid pointless social gatherings when she could. And yet, even as the Hyuuga clan head, she still got dragged into them by people she'd known and supposedly trusted for years.

This time in particular was all Tenten's fault. Well, really it was Naruto's fault for throwing a party every time something good happened in his life. This latest party was to celebrate Hinata's successful first year in "the baking industry," as Naruto liked to call it. Hanabi hadn't had any definite plans to attend, not even when Hinata had personally invited her.

And then Tenten had to "casually" mention that she was using the party as an excuse to introduce Irihi to the rest of their family and friends.

It was, of course, both completely possible and infinitely easier to just arrange a formal introduction between Hanabi and her young heir. It would've taken place in the Hyuuga compound, so they wouldn't even have had to leave home. The problem was that Hanabi knew very well that such situations were uncomfortable for young children, having been through them herself, and she didn't want Irihi's first impression of her to go badly. Certainly she was under no pressure to impress the child (quite the other way around, in fact), but this was Neji's only daughter, and Hanabi wanted things to be comfortable for her.

And by the time she'd admitted to herself that one of Naruto's loud parties was a much more comfortable environment, Hanabi had already been in a bad mood.

It was only after Hanabi had arrived that she discovered Tenten intended for Irihi to meet everyone else first. This was not so much surprising as it was mildly annoying, because it meant Hanabi had to sit there, not doing much of anything as she waited to finally speak to Irihi. Several times during the party, Hanabi found herself glaring through walls as Irihi was introduced to other people, all the while gripping the same cup of some concoction Naruto had presented her with earlier (and that she had no intention of bringing anywhere near her lips).

She wanted very much to leave, go home, and stick her head under a pillow for a few days. But Irihi was here now, and so was she, so there was no getting out of it.

Still, after over two hours of waiting, Hanabi had lost a great deal of patience. That was when a hand gently touched her shoulder.

"There are some very comfortable chairs in the next house over. Akamaru will make sure you're not disturbed."

Hanabi looked up gave her older sister a small, grateful smile before standing. "I should let onii-san know where I'm going."

Hinata shook her head, smiling warmly. "There's no need. I'll bring your heir to you, Hanabi-chan. Just take a few minutes to relax. I can tell you'd rather not be here, and I think Irihi might pick up on it, too."

It was a small relief that Hinata didn't sound offended, and Hanabi made a mental note to visit her more often so as not to give the wrong idea. "Is she enjoying herself so far?" Hanabi asked.

"Yes, and she seems just as anxious to meet you," Hinata replied. "I'll bring her once you've both had a chance to calm down."

* * *

Roughly ten minutes later, Hanabi was seated in a very odd chair that kept molding itself to her body no matter how much she shifted. It was less comfortable for her and more worrisome, since she couldn't sit still in it. She finally decided to sit on the floor and meditate while she waited. After some reflection, Hanabi decided that maybe Hinata had been joking about the chair being "comfortable," or that they just had very different ideas on the meaning of the word.

The house itself seemed more devoted towards meetings than actual living, as there were an abundance of chairs and tables, but little else. Naruto probably used it for the few important guests that visited. All things considered, it was the best place in the entire Uzumaki compound to have a first meeting with the Hyuuga heir.

It wasn't long before Hanabi heard two sets of footsteps approaching the house, though only one set made it to the front door.

"Don't worry, oba-san," said a young voice as the door swung open. "I'll be fine. Anyway, I need to do this on my own."

Hanabi quickly stowed the small, insistent sense of pride that those words inspired. At least the girl had the right attitude to start with. But then, she was Neji and Tenten's daughter, so that was no real surprise.

What did come as a surprise was how much the girl resembled Neji (or more specifically, Neji as a second-year genin) as she stepped into view. Everything about her identified her as her father's child, from the way her waist-length, dark brown hair was secured behind her back, to the same type of training clothes she wore (had they been a few sizes too big and in worse condition, Hanabi might have thought them the very same set Neji had worn).

What Hanabi did expect was the brief look of awe that flashed over the girl's face as their eyes first met. That happened quite a bit with the younger girls, who apparently considered her a major inspiration, not just to kunoichi, but to any female who wanted to be treated with respect. Hanabi didn't like to think of herself as an example for anyone without ties to her clan or ANBU, but she didn't have much choice in the matter.

Fortunately, the girl quickly remembered who she was, and more importantly, who she was standing before. "Hello, oba-sama," she said after a brief pause, bowing politely. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

Hanabi had a sudden urge to indicate that they needn't be formal, but quickly forced that thought from her mind. "Have a seat, Irihi." She was secretly pleased when the girl passed up all the chairs to join her on the floor, although they ended up much closer than Hanabi would've expected or preferred for their first meeting. She chalked this up to Irihi being eager, or thinking herself overly familiar from Neji's descriptions.

That was when the strangest thing happened. Hanabi realized she had no idea what she intended to say to the girl. Certainly she'd gone over this a million times in her head, but now that Irihi was right here, staring up at her curiously, it was very different.

"Do you have any questions?" Hanabi asked, trying to stall while she ordered her thoughts.

"Just one, really." Irihi lowered her head. "I probably shouldn't ask, though. I think it might be rude, oba-sama."

"But you would still like an answer, wouldn't you?"

"Yes... but only because it concerns my parents."

Hanabi was intrigued, to say the least. "Ask, then," she encouraged.

Irihi bit her lip uncertainly. "Am I... I mean..." She trailed off, trying to find the right way to pose the question. Finally, she simply blurted out, "Do I belong to you?"

Blinking slowly, Hanabi stared at the girl. "If anything, you belong to your parents."

"Could you take me away from them without their consent?"

Hanabi frowned slightly. "I don't think you quite understand our respective positions, Irihi. Your father has walked beside me for much of my life. In return for his guidance and loyalty, I decreed that his firstborn child would be the heir of the Hyuuga Clan. For many, an heir is a living embodiment of a clan's pride and power, not just someone who will one day assume control. Your being the heir is my gift to your father. I would never have any need or desire to remove you from the care of your parents."

"But... in some ways, I am your child, aren't I?" Irihi insisted.

The answer to that was rather obvious in Hanabi's own mind, but she wasn't quite sure if Irihi was ready to know and understand such things just yet. "I suppose you are. In some ways," Hanabi agreed at last, somewhat reluctantly.

"So will I get in trouble if I want to hug you sometimes?"

That question caught Hanabi completely off guard, valid as it was. Not just anyone could approach the Hyuuga clan head with intent to hug. Hanabi trusted Neji and Hinata completely in that area, and she was largely comfortable with Tenten as well. Naruto tended to get carried away, but Hanabi was unfortunately starting to get used to his crushing hugs. Perhaps it was the very idea that Irihi would make such a request within five minutes of their first meeting that surprised Hanabi so much.

"You have the distinct honor of being the only person alive who could never be punished for wanting to embrace me, Irihi," Hanabi replied firmly. "Although, if you would have to interrupt do so, I would expect you to conduct yourself in a manner befitting your position."

Irihi grinned at her. "Papa never told me you were so cool."

Hanabi wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "Then what did he say?"

"He said that if anything ever happened to him and Mama, you would look after me. And if anything happened to you, then I'd go to Hinata oba-san and Naruto oji-san. And if all of you got wiped out, I could chose between Lee-san and Temari oba-san."

The list and order of preference didn't surprise Hanabi. Neji seemed most concerned with keeping Irihi with family, and failing that, people he trusted to raise her in a certain way. Lee was his teammate, and while Neji didn't actually like Temari, he did trust her to keep Irihi strong.

"You'll probably want to be getting back to your parents now," Hanabi suggested quietly. She figured they'd covered enough ground for day one.

"Why would I want to do that?" Irihi asked, frowning a little. "I can see them anytime. I'm hanging out with you now, oba-sama. I mean, unless you don't want me to...?"

"You are not... bored?" Hanabi asked hesitantly.

Irihi shook her head. "Hey, is it really true that you climbed the Hokage Monument all by yourself when you were a genin?" she demanded suddenly.

Hanabi relaxed slightly, since that was familiar ground. "No, that is not true. My teammates climbed it as well."

Somehow, Irihi didn't seem disappointed in the last. "So you ALL did that? Cool! Do you think I could one day, oba-sama?"

"That is a very lofty goal, Irihi. You must keep in mind that my teammates and I had a certain amount of influence and determination that you perhaps do not. It would not be wise to approach such a feat lightly, and if I ever hear that you attempted it without my permission, you will be punished severely."

The girl's face fell. "But... I just want to be like you, oba-sama..."

"You can only be as you are meant to be. Your path may turn out to be similar to someone else's, but they will not be exactly the same. You should strive for your best, not mine. For all you know, you may be able to surpass me at some things, but you will never know if you are too consumed with only matching my accomplishments. Aside from that, I would rather be proud of you for doing something no one else had done before you. I expect you to reach new, unheard of heights, and you can hardly do that by remaining in my shadow."

"I guess I never thought of it that way," Irihi admitted quietly.

"Then you should from now on. Escaping someone else's shadow is often very difficult, and without constant effort, you may fail to do so entirely. If you remember nothing else from this conversation, remember that." Sighing softly, Hanabi closed her eyes. "Tell me something about yourself, Irihi. Anything at all."

There was a short pause.

"Um... I only have one friend," Irihi said.

Hanabi opened her eyes. "Tell me about this one friend."

"Her name is Aburame Shinju. She's the tallest girl... no, the tallest kid in my class. We both sit in the back row, and everyone's afraid of us. That's how we met, because no one else would talk to us, so we figured we should at least talk to each other. She gave me this really neat good luck charm last week." Irihi reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a plastic butterfly with pale lavender wings.

Hanabi smiled faintly. "And did she say what the purpose of this charm was?"

Irihi nodded. "She said it would keep me safe, but she never said how."

"That charm contains larvae, Irihi. I do not know their exact purpose, but I imagine they would somehow alert Shinju if you were ever in danger."

"You mean Shinju gave me some of her bugs? But doesn't she need them?"

"Some can be safely separated from their host," Hanabi explained. "I am sure Shinju simply values your friendship, and you, far too much to risk losing either. Her father gave Hinata a similar gift when they were slightly older than you. That is but one of several reasons our two clans have been on good terms for some time now. You really should make a point to thank Shinju for her protection."

Irihi pouted slightly. "But she gave me this super cool gift, and I didn't give her anything..."

"If she is anything like her father, then your thanks will be enough, Irihi."

"You're probably right, oba-sama. Shinju always acts a little funny when I hug her. At first, I thought I might be squishing her bugs, but now I think she just doesn't like too much touching." The girl paused and frowned, as if something had just occurred to her. "How come some people don't like to be hugged, oba-sama? I mean, hugs are great!"

Hanabi tried to decide how best to answer the question without letting on that she was often one of those people. "Surely you're aware that shinobi must sometimes show no emotion, Irihi. For some, it is easier to always be that way, rather than to try and turn it on and off at the appropriate times. And, as you said, some simply don't care much for physical contact. But at the other extreme, there are those who thrive on it."

"You mean like Naruto oji-san and Hinata oba-san?"

"I suppose. What made you think of them?"

"Oh, that's easy," Irihi replied. "When Naruto oji-san hugs me, I feel like I'm going to disappear because his arms are so big... but in a good way. And with Hinata oba-san, it's like hugging a sunbeam. It's all warm and happy and tingly." She stopped there, staring at Hanabi expectantly. "I'd say what hugging you was like, but since I've never done it before..." Irihi let the sentence hang there, smiling hopefully as she slowly moved to her feet.

Hanabi remained exactly as she was, not because she wasn't interested in hugging, but because she had found this was the best way to prepare herself, and to alert people that she was simply not the hugging type. Most people figured it out when she remained stiff in their arms, but there were some (like Hinata and Naruto) who insisted on remaining blissfully unaware that embracing simply was not one of Hanabi's preferred activities.

Having never hugged a child before, Hanabi wasn't quite sure what to expect. Part of her hoped that Irihi would get this out of her system quickly, and yet another part prayed that the girl would never want to let go. So she was both startled and somewhat pleased when, instead of simply hugging her, Irihi actually climbed into her lap and slid her arms around Hanabi's neck, tucking her head just under Hanabi's chin, as if she belonged there. And perhaps she did, because before Hanabi could stop herself, she had wrapped her arms securely around her heir, holding the girl closer than she had ever held anyone. It was a strange and wonderful feeling, one that she desperately hoped she would never be too busy to enjoy again.

"I wish I could stay like this," Irihi murmured, closing her eyes and yawning quietly.

Hanabi simply reached up and lightly stroked Irihi's hair a few times. Within seconds, the girl was snoring softly. Any other day, Hanabi would've carefully laid her niece down somewhere and left her to sleep. But today, they were meant to meet and bond with each other, and Hanabi had never felt so comfortable being this close to another person before.

She didn't want to put Irihi down. Not now, and maybe not ever.

"It's because I'll never hold a child of my own," Hanabi whispered. "Irihi is... everything to me. Everything..."

As if she had heard, Irihi stirred slightly and turned her head so that her ear was pressed against Hanabi's heart. The girl settled down almost instantly, and would not wake again for some time.

Hanabi was still holding her niece when Hinata came to check on them an hour later.

The scene was no different when Tenten poked her head in an hour after that, smiled softly, and left them alone.

Shortly after that, Neji and Naruto entered, and didn't offer a single word as they quickly and quietly cleared some space on the floor, laid out a futon that could easily fit either one very large person, or one average-sized adult and a child. Hanabi didn't say so for fear of waking Irihi, but she thought they rather looked like two men who had just done the bidding of their wives, and would be rewarded (or at least avoid punishment) shortly afterward. Naruto beamed at her before he left the room, but Neji lingered, as if he wanted to say something. He never did, though, and after several long minutes of simply staring at the pair, a multitude of emotions flickering through his face, he left as well.

More than anything else, Hanabi had seen the unmistakable pride in his eyes. But she had not missed the sadness, because Neji was perhaps the only person that would ever truly understand what Hanabi had sacrificed for his daughter. It was not something that he could ever repay, but she knew he would try. Hanabi would never need an excuse to see her niece, nor would Tenten ever complain that they spent far too much time together.

From all indications, Irihi was going to insist on being with her regularly, anyway. And this thought did not bother Hanabi nearly as much as she'd feared it might. There would of course be plenty of awkward moments in which Hanabi found herself completely out of her element, but she had found that those usually only occurred with people she truly cared for, and that made them worth the trouble.

* * *

Irihi woke up the following morning to hear a strangely familiar buzzing in her ear. At first, she had no idea where she was, or how she'd gotten there. But then she remembered the party, talking to Hanabi, and then falling asleep at some point. Apparently, her parents had allowed her to stay overnight at the Uzumaki compound, though she wasn't sure why. Certainly her mother wouldn't have minded, but her father... well, he was just in the habit of having his two girls under the same roof when night fell, and Irihi could count the times she'd stayed the night with the Uzumaki or Aburame Clans on one hand and still have fingers left over.

Once she sat up, the buzzing stopped abruptly, and Irihi was not quite surprised to see Shinju sitting against the wall, staring at her expectantly. As with most Aburame, Shinju almost never exposed more skin than her hands and parts of her face, and even the latter was usually hidden beneath a virtual veil of shadows that extended from her wide, black straw hat all the way down to her high collar. Irihi was almost positive that it was some sort of genjutsu, but hadn't quite worked up the nerve to ask her friend so personal a question just yet.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to wake up," Shinju stated. "You said you wanted to spar this morning. Did you forget?"

"No," Irihi answered truthfully, stifling a yawn. "I just lost track of time. How'd you know where I was?"

"Your aunt," Shinju replied simply. "She suggested there was something you wanted to tell me?"

Though there was no need to ask which aunt, Irihi had a hard time picturing Hanabi talking to Shinju. Maybe she'd just passed the message on to Shinju's father... but that was even harder to picture, since Irihi had known him for years, and had yet to hear him speak a whole sentence in her presence. "Shinju, why didn't you tell me what that charm was really for? If I'd known-"

"I did not wish to insult you, Irihi," Shinju interrupted softly. "I realize you can defend yourself, and I know you are proud of that. I did not want you to think I was implying anything else."

"Shinju, you're my only friend. And I'm your only friend, too. I would never get mad at you for trying to help me. Knowing you cared enough to do this makes me really happy, actually."

Shinju tensed slightly as Irihi scooted towards her. "You're not going to hug me again, are you?"

"Maybe just a little," Irihi replied with a warm smile.

Sighing, Shinju looked away, muttering something under her breath.

"What'd you say?"

"Make it quick," Shinju repeated uncomfortably.

Irihi instantly wrapped her arms around Shinju's neck, squeezing tightly for a few seconds before letting go. "You're a really good friend, Shinju."

"I'm glad you think so. I just wish you'd find another way to express it." That said, Shinju stood up and shoved her hands into her pockets. "Can we go now?"

Nodding, Irihi got up as well. She then paused, realizing she should probably change her clothes for a fresh set. But then, she was likely to get dirty while sparring, and there was no point in ruining two sets of clothes in one day. With any luck, she'd be able to bathe before her parents came back to get her. Anyway, Shinju was really sensitive to smells, so if Irihi started to get a little ripe, her friend would be the first to tell her.

"Hey, Shinju?" Irihi asked quietly as they stepped into the morning sunlight. "What did you think of her? My aunt, I mean?" She felt completely comfortable asking that, knowing Shinju would either be honest, or simply opt not to answer at all. She was smart that way, and in many others, for that matter.

"She is very, very strong," Shinju said after a long moment of thought. "She must be, to carry so much pain in her heart."

Irihi froze, alarm creeping into her expression. "Pain? What pain? She's sick?"

"No. But whenever she looks at me, that's the first thing that occurs to me: that she is in terrible pain."

"But... why? What is it that hurts her?"

Shinju shook her head. "I do not know, Irihi. And I do not think it is your place to ask. Not yet, at least."

The thought of Hanabi being in constant pain made Irihi want to cry. But not once last night had she detected any trace of it, so maybe it wasn't a crippling pain, at least. Aside from that, Irihi trusted Shinju's judgment, and she would've said so if she thought the condition were life-threatening at all.

"We could always spar another time," Shinju offered, sensing her friend would be in no mood to train now.

Irihi blinked and shook her head slightly. "Um. Yeah. We can do that," she murmured, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

In a rare act of affection, Shinju reached out and placed her hand on Irihi's shoulder. "She didn't tell you, because she didn't want you to worry. You should try to respect her wishes, if you can."

Shinju was rarely wrong about anything she gave much thought to, so Irihi knew she was probably right in this as well. Still, she had only been taught to ignore her own pain, not that of others. But if this was the way that Hanabi really wanted it, what else could she do?

* * *

Hanabi had a certain policy on being a clan head, and it was simply this: being clan head was a job, and like every other job, there were business hours. When they ended, there essentially was no Hyuuga clan head until the next morning, unless there was an emergency. And whether she spent those free hours sleeping or not, Hanabi loathed being disturbed for any reason, so anyone that dared to call on her during that time always had an excellent reason.

In short, Hanabi didn't know what to think when she came home to find Irihi sitting on the floor of her bedroom.

"Is there something you need from me, Irihi?" she asked after a long moment.

"No, oba-sama," Irihi replied at once, watching closely as Hanabi moved past her.

"Then what is it that you want, exactly?"

"To stay with you."

Hanabi paused and slowly turned to face her heir. "To stay with me," she said slowly, noting that Irihi seemed perfectly serious.

"Yes, oba-sama. I missed you, when I woke up today and you weren't there."

In truth, Hanabi had felt slightly guilty about that. But that was why she'd gone to the trouble of fetching Shinju, so that Irihi wouldn't wake up alone. Apparently, that was not enough.

"Do your parents know you are here, Irihi?"

She nodded. "Mama said it was okay, and that she'd tell Papa when he got home. But... if you want me to, I could go home..."

It was obvious that Irihi didn't want to go anywhere, and Hanabi was becoming more reluctant to send her away by the second. It didn't really matter why Irihi had come, in the end. All that mattered was that she was here of her own free will, and that she wanted to stay.

"You may stay, Irihi. But in the future, you must ask me directly. If I had been called away on business, you could have been here by yourself all night."

"I'll remember next time, oba-sama," Irihi promised. And then, without missing a beat: "Oba-sama, could I-?"

"Yes," Hanabi sighed, resisting the urge to smile. "For the rest of the week, if you like." That, if the way Irihi's face lit up was any indicator, was more than she'd hoped for.

"Thank you, oba-sama!" Irihi practically flung herself at Hanabi's legs and latched on rather tightly.

She had definitely been exposed to Naruto too much. But, just as with him, Hanabi found she could do little more than roll her eyes and let it go. After all, the only way she could overtake Naruto's influence on her heir was to spend even more time with her than he did, and Naruto was a very devoted uncle.

"Um... oba-sama? Do you think, maybe, when I go to the Academy for the first time, you could go with me?"

Hanabi slowly looked down to see Irihi gazing up at her hopefully. "That is a privilege usually reserved for parents, Irihi."

"I know, and they can still go. But I especially want you there. Please? You said I was your child, too..."

"In some ways," Hanabi couldn't help adding.

"Can't this be one of the ways?"

"I... may be available on that day," was all Hanabi could think to say after a moment.

Irihi grinned at her. "I could stay with you that week, too, so you don't forget!"

Yes, life was indeed very odd sometimes.

As Hanabi went to bed that night with Irihi curled up against her side, she could not find any trace of the consuming envy that gripped her whenever she came across someone else with their child. She had very nearly forgotten herself when she saw Sakura leaving the bookstore that day, followed by a blond boy that was obviously Ino's son, and a girl that looked exactly like Sakura. Even Shino had been up since dawn, collecting insects with Shinju when Hanabi visited them.

But only with Irihi was Hanabi's pain largely dulled and forgotten. And somehow, it seemed that Irihi had figured that out for herself.

**End of Part 1.**

* * *

**Endnotes:**

Irihi: evening/setting sun

Shinju: pearl

You might notice that Irihi and Shinju don't bother using "-chan" when addressing each other. This is done: 1) to indicate their closeness, and 2) because these are two girls who take after their fathers quite a bit (and not just in appearance). In some cases, they might even expect or prefer to be confused for boys (girls only get so much respect from boys in the series until they've cracked a few skulls), and being able to compete on or above the level of their male peers would only earn them more respect (grudging as it may be at first). That, and Shinju would view being called "Shinju-chan" as more of an insult that anything else. Irihi, on the other hand, wouldn't mind it so long as the person is a relative or a close friend.

Don't read too much into Irihi simply referring to Lee as "Lee-san." Somehow I think her calling him anything else would make him feel older than he prefers.

The climbing stunt that Irihi asks about refers to the ficlet "Hokage Climbing." But I'm sure you've already read that, right?

Oh, and before I forget, the party in the first scene was to celebrate Hinata's home-based business of baking and selling cinnamon buns, but more on that next chapter.

At the moment, I'm debating whether this miniseries (four chapters planned right now) should go hand in hand with "A Uchiha Among Uzumaki," the way "White Dog Night" goes with "Hyuuga Secret Arts." I only mention it because they'll each focus on a young girl, who conveniently have quite a bit of interaction with each other, so it shouldn't be too hard to balance out. The main difference being that Irihi's chapters have a more lighthearted, fun feel to them, while the other story is a bit more serious and angsty (as you no doubt expected with a Uchiha involved). It'll also deal with some people I've been largely avoiding, such as Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Itachi, and Sasuke. Mind you, they won't all show up, but at the very least they get mentioned more than once.


	2. Flower Power

Notes: This chapter finally focuses on Sakura and Ino's kids, and if they remind you of anyone, that's done on purpose.

Summary: Irihi meets her teammates, and, to their surprise, already knows everything about them.

**The Iron Hyuuga**

**Part 2: Flower Power**

**A Naruto Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

Despite his mother's best efforts, Yamanaka Isai was unfortunately, awkwardly, and rather uncomfortably shy. She had told him nearly every day of his life that he had to speak up for himself, or he'd have a hard time getting people to respect him. And it wasn't that Isai didn't want respect, or the ability to stand on his own two feet. It was just...

Well, he had Hanako, so it all became pretty much unnecessary.

And it didn't matter that statistics showed the likelihood of the two of them being together, every single day, for the rest of their lives, was astronomically low. Isai had done the math, shown it to her, and gotten a punch (although a very light one, considering) in the nose for his efforts.

"You're pretty stupid for a smart kid, Isai," Hanako had said, glaring at him. "And if you think I'd let you go anywhere without me, you're crazy, too."

He could certainly appreciate her point of view, though. Isai could not remember a time when Haruno Hanako hadn't been his best friend. This was due largely to the fact that they lived in the same house, and had done so since shortly after birth (he had been born exactly one week before her). In fact, there were times when Isai almost forgot that they weren't related: Hanako acted very much like a bossy older sister most of the time, except that she was slightly younger than him and not a blood relative.

The point was that Hanako had always looked out for him. She'd beaten up everyone who picked on him, dragged him along whenever she talked to the popular kids, and stayed nearby if he was reading a particularly difficult book, just in case someone decided to make fun of him for it. By now, Isai had read and seen enough to know that having a girl protect him all the time didn't exactly make him a shining example of masculinity. But, Hanako could hit harder than anyone he knew, so he was perfectly willing to give up manliness for the sake of protection (and so Hanako wouldn't hit HIM for seeming ungrateful).

Today, however, Hanako being his best friend wouldn't do Isai much good, if they were assigned to different teams. He had hoped and even prayed that this would not be the case. He didn't really have any other friends (at least, none that were friendly without Hanako being present), and this would be uncomfortable enough having just one new person to deal with.

Thankfully, Hanako had sensed how nervous he was as soon as they entered the classroom, and for once, didn't pester him into talking about it. She did keep shooting him concerned looks, but then she did that when things were fine, too. He offered her a weak smile, but it only made her frown a little as she looked away.

Isai let his gaze wander over the rest of his classmates, wondering who he might get stuck with. He ended up staring at the back row, where two slightly taller girls were sitting. This was nothing new, as they sat there every day, and Isai often found excuses to look back there as well. And this was because, quite frankly, he thoroughly enjoyed looking at Hyuuga Irihi. More specifically, he liked looking at her face. The way she laughed, smiled, even talked, was fascinating to him. Ironically, the one time she'd said just two words to him, his mind had gone completely blank and he hadn't been able to say anything. Isai worried that he'd offended her, since she hadn't bothered speaking to him again. He had no idea what he'd do if she was placed on the same team as him. Having a heart attack seemed very likely, and if that did happen, Hanako had enough basic medic-nin training from her mother to keep him alive until they reached the hospital. Unfortunately, if Hanako happened to figure out what had put him in that condition, she was far more likely to just let him die...

* * *

Hanako was doing her best not to jump up and break the nearest person in half (Isai, in this particular case), but it was very difficult. She had known this day would come, but she hadn't counted on it being so soon.

Isai was looking at another girl.

And not just any girl, but Hyuuga Irihi, the top student in the Academy. Had it been anyone else, Hanako wouldn't have hesitated to pound them, but Irihi was one of only two girls in their class that Hanako wasn't sure she could take in a fair fight. It didn't help that the other girl, Aburame Shinju, was Irihi's best friend, and pretty frightening in her own right.

Even worse, Irihi probably wouldn't need Shinju's help to beat anyone.

Why did Isai have to have a crush on the one girl she couldn't beat up? Okay, there was Shinju, but Hanako was pretty sure that no one would ever have a crush on her, as she was just a bit too creepy. Irihi, unfortunately, was anything but. Once you got past the fact that she was a Hyuuga, and consequently horrendously talented, she was actually almost pretty, in a scruffy, tomboyish sort of way. And it seemed that Isai was interested in that sort of thing, for some reason.

And Hanako couldn't compete with that. She was not scruffy or tomboyish in her own mind, but she'd punch a boy's face in before she put on any sort of cosmetics (she was already pretty, and only her mother had pink hair, too, so she was unique enough). She just wasn't... girly. It didn't suit her, and she much preferred being seen as tough and skilled... exactly the way Irihi and Shinju were. The only real difference was that boys still dared to approach her, usually mistaking her pink hair as a sign of blatant girliness.

Closing her eyes tightly, Hanako tried to clear her mind and calm herself down, the way her mother was always insisting that she practice in times like this. But the more she tried not to think about anything, the more she thought about how unfair her life seemed to be lately. She was always getting in trouble for fighting, but she couldn't really help it. They were all trying to become ninja, and it wasn't Hanako's fault that she'd inherited her father's fierce fighting spirit. She could remember when Isai had openly admired her strength, but now he was always sneaking looks at Irihi. Hanako couldn't say anything about it, because then Isai would think (or know) that she was jealous. And that would only lead to more problems.

It was the fault of both their mothers, she knew. Because Hanako and Isai had been raised side by side, it was only natural that they think of themselves as being siblings. For a while, that had been fine. But then Hanako began to notice little things, things that now bothered her where they once hadn't. That strange flutter in her stomach when Isai smiled unexpectedly at her was more like a wall of water crashing down upon her senses, leaving her stunned and flustered. She was more conscious of how often they came into close physical contact: Isai thought nothing of brushing her hair out of her face, or cradling her hands in his on the many occasions when she bruised her knuckles. His gifts for her were always practical, the meaning behind them all too obvious: bandages for her hands, ribbons to keep the hair out of her eyes, and inventing new meditation techniques for her to try. And that was saying a lot, since Isai's mother owned an entire flower shop, yet he'd never once given Hanako a flower.

Hanako bit her lip angrily as Isai subtly glanced towards the back of the classroom again. It wasn't that she hated Irihi or anything like that. She barely knew the girl at all, so that wouldn't have been fair. It was just that Hanako had a horrible feeling that when Isai did work up the nerve to give a flower to a girl, it would be Irihi instead of her. And despite the fact that Isai wouldn't really have done anything wrong, Hanako didn't know if she could find it in her heart to forgive such an offense.

* * *

"This sucks," Irihi moaned pitifully. "We're not going to be on the same team!"

Shinju said nothing to this. Perhaps she was still taking in the fact that she'd just been assigned to a team with two boys. They weren't the worst of the bunch, at least, but they weren't her friends, either.

"That means I'm going to be on a team with people who don't like me! What am I supposed to do, Shinju?"

"You'll figure it out," Shinju replied confidently. "You can't depend on my advice this time. It wouldn't be right."

Irihi sighed dramatically. "Fine. But if they're really horrible, I'll signal you. Then you shove them into some cocoons and bury them under your house. We'll tell people you're raising a bunch of mutant super bugs… with giant wings and everything!"

A slight twitch in Shinju's lips was the only sign that she knew Irihi was joking, and even then anyone who didn't know her might have thought she was agreeing instead. "I doubt it will be that bad."

"About the best I could hope for now is to end up with the Flower Children," Irihi murmured, drumming her fingers on the desk.

Naturally, they were both a little stunned when the next team was announced.

"Hyuuga Irihi, Haruno Hanako, and Yamanaka Isai."

Irihi blinked and looked at Shinju. "Rats! If I'd known I had that kind of power earlier, we could've had our own team!"

Shinju looked skeptical. "Pure coincidence, I'm sure..."

* * *

Being fairly observant herself, Irihi knew that Isai at least sort of liked her, and Hanako at least sort of didn't. This was not a good thing, since Hanako was likely to do all the talking. Isai would probably just sit there blushing and avoiding her eyes... which might have been cute at any other time, but wouldn't be a big help today.

So it was only fair that Irihi gave them space for most of the lunch break. Hanako and Isai always ate lunch together in the classroom, and she never failed to finish before he did. That in itself was quite a feat, since Hanako ate nearly twice as much as any other student, claiming she needed the extra energy for better muscle mass. But apparently there was some truth to that; Hanako was not at all overweight, while Isai had always been fairly thin, no matter how much he ate. He usually ended up giving half of his lunch to Hanako, anyway.

With ten or so minutes left for the break, Irihi finally walked over to the pair, sat down beside Hanako as if she did it all the time, and leaned back in her chair, calmly staring at the ceiling.

Hanako frowned slightly. "What are you doing?"

"Cloud gazing," Irihi replied simply.

"But... we're inside."

"I know."

Isai hesitantly tapped Hanako on the shoulder. "She does have the Byakugan, Hanako..."

"But she's not using it NOW!" Hanako snapped, shooting him a dark look. "Her face would be all weird if she was!"

He flinched. "We don't really know that for sure..."

"Would this be a bad time to mention I was joking?" Irihi asked, watching them with an amused grin. "I was trying to break the ice, so to speak. Guess it didn't work so well."

"Not really," Hanako agreed, scowling at her a little.

"Don't be mad, Hanako-chan. I wasn't trying to make fun of you. It's just that I know you might not have the best impression of me, since we never hang out. I wanted you to know the real me before you made up your mind. And this is me. I joke. Hard to believe, right?"

Hanako wasn't about to agree with Irihi again... although she had been a little surprised that a Hyuuga could joke at all. Under different circumstances, Hanako might have even laughed.

"Um... maybe we should... introduce ourselves," Isai suggested quietly.

"Oh, there's no need, Isai-kun," Irihi quickly assured him. "I know you guys already."

"I really don't see how that's possible," Hanako said at once.

"It is, though. You live together, your mothers are best friends, and Isai isn't so good at talking to girls."

The blonde boy instantly turned bright red.

"And how would you know that last one?" Hanako demanded.

Irihi shrugged. "I've watched him. That, and he couldn't seem to talk to me when I tried."

"And the rest of it?"

Blinking, Irihi gave her a long look. "Isn't it obvious? Your mother is teammates with my uncle, your father is teammates with my father, and Isai's mother is teammates with Isai's godfather, who also happens to be dating my aunt. We're practically related!"

"Not really," Isai said, a bit desperately.

"Yeah, really," Hanako chimed in, shooting him another look.

"The point is there's no reason we shouldn't get along fine, since our families already do," Irihi stated. "If you come with me to my uncle's place after class, I bet he could tell you tons of stories about your parents that you've never heard before. I'd just have to call Akamaru so we won't have any trouble getting through the gates."

"The gates?" Isai asked in shock. "You mean the village gates? Why would we need to go through them?"

"Yeah, and who's this Akamaru?" Hanako added.

Irihi grinned at them. "I'll answer both questions on the way. Assuming you two aren't scared, of course..."

Hanako just barely held in a growl. "We're not! And you better not be making this stuff up!"

"I wouldn't lie to my teammates," Irihi responded solemnly. "Because that DOES make us related."

For several seconds, Hanako could only stare at her in shock. Then the pink-haired girl blinked and nudged Isai, who'd been staring as well. "Okay, we'll go with you... Irihi-chan," Hanako muttered.

"Great!" Irihi beamed and slung a companionable arm around Hanako's neck. "We're going to get along just fine, I can tell already!"

It didn't matter that Hanako seemed a little uncomfortable with the closeness, or that Isai seemed a bit sad that he wasn't in on it. Hanako wouldn't have accepted the invitation if she hadn't been impressed, and she definitely wouldn't have let Isai go alone. All that really mattered to Irihi was that she now had four friends instead of two (Akamaru didn't count; he was family as far as Irihi was concerned).

* * *

Having only known Irihi on a personal level for a couple of hours, Hanako came to the quick conclusion that the girl's life was filled with surprises, at least for those she called her friends.

First, Irihi was not like most Hyuuga that Hanako had seen from a distance. They were mostly stiff, formal, and either totally terrifying or completely boring. But Irihi was friendly, funny, and liked to hug a lot. And that was saying something, since Hanako's father tended to hug her no less than five times a day if she'd let him.

Second, Akamaru turned out to be the biggest dog... well, ever, as far as Hanako knew. And yet, he had been completely non-threatening, even going so far as to roll onto his back so Hanako and Isai wouldn't be intimidated by his size. Isai wasn't a big fan of animals, but when Irihi had looked at him expectantly, he forced himself to pet Akamaru a few times. Hanako preferred normal-sized dogs herself, but even she had just about melted when Akamaru licked her hand.

Third, despite the fact that the three of them weren't even official genin yet, they had been allowed to pass through the village gates. Hanako had figured out very quickly that this was because of Akamaru. The guards had known him on sight, and one had even petted him.

Fourth, Irihi's uncle hadn't been home. Which was more disappointing than it was a surprise, and yet it still counted, because Irihi's aunt had been home. That, however, had been a surprise, because she recognized Hanako and Isai at once. Hanako didn't remember ever meeting her, but she felt strangely at ease around the woman, too. Isai had later informed her that the woman was in fact their "Nanny Hina," who would occasionally watch them while their parents were away. So Hanako was even more surprised when Irihi revealed that Nanny Hina was also the genius behind Sunny Buns, the best-tasting cinnamon buns ever. Although it was starting to make sense, since Hanako's mother had at least several boxes of the stuff stocked up, and Irihi was always pulling out empty wrappers whenever she reached into her pockets. Hanako almost didn't feel guilty about the three Sunny Buns she'd inhaled at Nanny Hina's gentle insistence... but she did feel somewhat bad over the additional three that Nanny Hina slipped in her pocket when Irihi and Isai weren't looking. And no matter how much she protested, Hanako suspected that Nanny Hina would always know that she would've gladly taken thirty-three, if only there was a place to hide them all...

Overall, Hanako's first day with Irihi had been very, very good (she'd forgotten not to let Irihi in on that, and got herself hugged for it). Isai agreed that being her teammates would be interesting, by which he really meant that Hanako had gotten way more hugs from Irihi than he had. And Hanako was in such a good mood that she didn't even hit him for it.

And, just as Irihi had predicted earlier, Hanako's parents were very pleased when she told them about her day. She didn't even mind when her father went on and on about Irihi "bursting with the power of youth," since it was technically very true, and Irihi herself found it amusing. Nor did her mother look surprised when Hanako said she was too full for her usual double helpings at dinner.

* * *

Being a single mother, in Yamanaka Ino's mind, was probably a rewarding yet extremely difficult sort of thing, and fortunately for her, she had absolutely no idea what it might be like. There was little doubt in her mind that if she had tried to raise Isai on her own, he would've run away to Sakura's house anyway, so it was easier to just give him regular access. But it also worked both ways, because there were times when Hanako needed a mother that wouldn't overanalyze every little thing, just as Isai often needed a mother who not only provided him with difficult books, but actually understood them.

Certainly, there had been some minor jealousy at first, at least on Ino's part. Even if she didn't know the answers to half the questions her son asked, she'd still liked that he came to her anyway. And Isai did still come to her, but only when he had questions about areas she had expertise in: flowers, their clan jutsu, and why girls were so confusing. Ironically, Hanako didn't like talking about her own problems, and so when she finally did break down and ask Ino about anything, it was always an intensely personal matter that she didn't want Sakura taking a clinical approach to.

These days, Ino didn't even bother waiting for Hanako to come to her. It was just a matter of outwitting Hanako's temper, which was fairly short to begin with. With enough prodding, the girl would get frustrated and eventually share what was on her mind, and only Ino knew just how to get under her skin in a way that wasn't hazardous to her own health.

Of course, with Hanako being assigned to a team that same day, Ino had known that there would probably be a need for some serious venting. As much as she loved Hanako, the girl was just not a people person, and with any luck, she hadn't completely ruined any chance of the team working as a unit already. Ino had even closed up the flower shop early and rushed home, expecting to have to run damage control. But there were no obvious signs of a recent Hanako meltdown: nothing was broken, Lee wasn't doing any hasty clean-up jobs, and Sakura was reading to Isai out of a medical text that most probably weighed slightly more than he did.

Confused but relieved (for the moment, anyway), Ino made her way upstairs to Hanako's bedroom. Still more amazing, the door hadn't been ripped off or damaged in any way, and it was even open, as if Hanako actually wanted to encourage visitors instead of keep them out. Ino still decided to play it safe and lightly drummed her fingernails on the doorframe.

"In here," called a slightly muffled voice that seemed to originate from Hanako's closet.

"You're a little old to still be hiding in the closet, aren't you, bunshin?" Ino asked with a smirk.

There was a loud, exasperated sigh, the only sign Hanako ever gave that the nickname bothered her. "It's another meditation technique, Ino-san. I'm trying to eliminate everyday distractions by confining myself to a dark place and focusing only on my heartbeat."

"Yeah? Is it working?"

"Well, not anymore," Hanako sighed as she emerged from the closet, scowling at Ino before she flopped across her bed. "You're a very big distraction, as always."

"I try," Ino replied airily, sitting down next to her. "So, how did things go at the Academy?"

There was a slight pause, and then: "Could we talk about something else, please?"

"Afraid not. Changing the subject abruptly is often a sign that we need to stay on-topic."

Hanako sighed. "Today was fine, and I'm only changing the subject because there's something more important I want to talk about."

"And what," Ino said slowly, "could possibly be more important than getting along with the very people who will one day save your life?"

"Being completely stupid and falling hopelessly in love with one of them," Hanako responded at once, pulling a pillow over her head. "Even worse, I'm not the only one."

Ino was silent for a long moment before she gently tugged the pillow away. "This is one of those cases where you can't just start in the middle, Hanako. Why don't you start by telling me who-"

"Isai doesn't love me," Hanako blurted out sadly.

Ino sighed, closing her eyes. "Now, why would say something silly like that?"

"He's always looking at Irihi, and it's not fair because I like her, but then I don't because of Isai, and I never know what to say to her, and if I act weird Isai asks me what's wrong, and I can't tell him because he'd... he'd know!"

Ino had been dreading this conversation for some time now, but because of that, she had some idea of how to handle it. "Isai does love you, Hanako. Not in the way you want him to, but you must never forget that he does. The way he feels about you might change, and it might not, but there will always be that, if nothing else."

"But... I have to DO something, don't I?" Hanako asked.

"Not really. The only choices you have are to tell him, or not tell him. And based on what you know of Isai, what would he do if he found out a girl liked him?"

"He'd probably try to stay away from her until he figured out what to do."

"And you don't want that, Hanako, I know you don't." Ino reached over and gently patted her head. "So maybe you don't say anything, for now."

"But... if he doesn't know how I feel, then he might... find someone else, and then-"

Ino couldn't help it, she laughed. "This is Isai we're talking about. He still doesn't know that it's okay to smile at a girl when she smiles at him first. I don't think he'll be finding anyone without some serious help, and the only person he asks about girls is me. You don't think I'd let my boy end up with a girl that was going to hurt him, do you?"

"No, but you said yourself he's not too bright with anything you can't learn in a book," Hanako pointed out. "That's why I have to keep an eye on him all the time."

"Oh, so it's not to scare off the other girls?" Ino asked with a knowing smile.

Hanako snorted loudly. "Isai does that on his own, he's so weird around them. I bet the only reason Irihi stuck around is that she doesn't have a choice anymore."

"And yet you seem to like him just fine."

"That's different!" Hanako protested, blushing bright red. "He doesn't treat me the way other people do. With Isai, I don't feel awkward all the time, because he knows me. And even when I do, I don't mind so much, because... because it's Isai, and he makes me feel special without even really trying."

"Hmm. I think this calls for a mother-daughter talk," Ino decided after a moment of thought.

"Aren't we already doing that?"

Ino gently poked her forehead. "With your real mother, bunshin."

"Oh. Really?" Hanako asked hesitantly. "That doesn't seem like such a good idea to me..."

Ino smiled at her. "Trust me, your mother knows a lot more about love than she lets on. She's spent practically her whole life stuck in it with one guy or another."

"That sounds more like you…"

"Okay, so there were only two or three for her, but that's not the point! The point is, your mother is happily married to your father, and that's more than some people can say. You really need to talk to her about this, Hanako. She can help you."

* * *

Upon hearing the quiet footsteps approaching her bedroom door, Sakura put aside the scroll she'd been reading and sat up in her bed. She had desperately hoped that Hanako would come to her today, if only because it was such a very big day in the girl's life, and things like that were sacred between mothers and daughters, or at least should have been. Sakura was all too aware that she and Hanako thought in entirely different ways, which usually make their conversations difficult and even combative at times. But it was only fair, since Isai soaked up pretty much anything Sakura said without complaint or hesitation, and obeyed her without question.

There was a quiet knock on the door, and Hanako's voice came out slightly muffled as she spoke.

"Um... Mom? Can I talk to you?"

"I'd like nothing better, Hanako."

The door slowly slid open, and Hanako peeked into the room uncertainly. "Are you sure? I mean, I could wait if-"

"It must be important if you're so nervous," Sakura interrupted gently. "And I'll never get to sleep knowing something is bothering my baby. So come in and tell me all about it."

It tugged at her heart, the way Hanako slowly inched into the room and shut the door, almost as if expecting a trap of some sort. Lee had always handled her better, and even though he constantly embarrassed Hanako with his outbursts, she had always been closer to him. But Sakura felt marginally better when Hanako sat down on the bed without being prompted, and better still when Hanako rested her head in Sakura's lap.

"You said you didn't love Dad when you first met him, right?" Hanako asked.

"That's right," Sakura agreed slowly, wondering where this was going.

"How did he make you change your mind? What did he do?"

"Well, there was no trick to it, if that's what you're thinking. We both grew into smarter, stronger people, and I came to realize that your father was offering me something that only one other person ever had. He was willing to be whatever I wished of him, for no other reason than he loved me with all of his heart. Of course, there's an insanely long list of insane things he did to try and win me over, but it was actually the things he did for himself and others that impressed me. He always tried his hardest, never gave up, and was willing to do anything for someone he cared about. It helped that he was romantic, funny, and a gentleman, though. To this day, he swears he's never seen a more beautiful woman than me, and it may sound vain, but I believe him, and probably will even when I know I'm an old hag. If you ever find someone that makes you feel beautiful inside and out, Hanako, don't let him get away. Just make sure he can take a kick to the head, or one of your father's greetings might land him in the hospital."

Hanako laughed softly. "I'll keep that in mind."

Sensing they were almost done, Sakura gently stroked her daughter's hair. "I know you'll think I'm crazy for suggesting this, but you can talk to Irihi about Isai. I've known her since she was a baby, and she reminds me a great deal of your father. If you ask her for help, she'll do everything in her power to solve your problem. Anyway, I seriously doubt she's interested in Isai at all."

"Why's that?" Hanako asked quietly.

Sakura smiled. "Honestly, baby, I think you're the only person who could ever really be interested in Isai. Who else could get close to him without scaring the poor boy silly? Or scare him just enough to keep him in line? Trust me, his eyes may wander, but Isai himself isn't going anywhere."

* * *

Not for the first time, Irihi wondered just how much energy her uncle had in him. Naruto had spent the whole day out in the forest with the twins, teaching them to sharpen their senses with chakra. And now that they were home, he was still working on that with Tsuki, since she hadn't quite mastered it yet. Enten had picked it up right away, as he usually did whenever Naruto taught them something. He wasn't the type to show off, so now he was just sitting in Irihi's lap as she sat in the front yard, watching Tsuki try to guess which hand Naruto was hiding candy in by smell alone.

The twins were only six to Irihi's twelve, but already she could see that they would be very talented when they grew up. True, Naruto wasn't exactly Academy sensei material, but then none of them had had access to the knowledge of a centuries-old demon fox for most of their lives, either. Irihi had never met Kyuubi, although she vividly recalled Naruto sniffing her on a few occasions, which was apparently a way of committing her scent to memory. So when Enten had asked earlier if he could smell her, she had said yes. Afterwards, Irihi had wondered if she should've cleaned up a bit first. Enten assured her, with the frankness only a six year old could possess, that it was better this way, since she always smelled slightly sweaty. And the only reason she didn't hit him was because he said it with a straight face, obviously not realizing that it wasn't exactly a compliment.

"Iri, what's it like being on a team?" Enten asked suddenly, looking up at her.

"Depends on your teammates," Irihi replied, resting her chin on his blond head. "Mine are okay, I guess. I can work with them."

"Are they strong?"

Irihi thought briefly of the time Hanako had been dared to knock down a tree, without realizing that Iruka-sensei was at the top retrieving a student's lost kunai. "One of them is. But the other is really smart, so it should be fine."

"But you're stronger, right?" Enten guessed confidently.

"Well, I think so," she replied, trying not to sound too smug. "But in terms of brute strength, Hanako might be stronger."

"Oh." Enten considered this for a long moment. "But I don't think you're a brute, Iri. So that's okay."

She laughed and gave him a peck on the forehead. "Thanks, little guy. I'll be sure to let her know you said that."

"Probably not a good idea," Hinata said as she walked out of the house. "Hanako is very sensitive about her strength. Proud, but sensitive."

"Aw, I'm just kidding, oba-san. I wouldn't really tell Hanako that. I've seen the way her mother hits oji-san."

Hinata smiled. "Just keep in mind that you wouldn't heal quite as fast as him, and your mouth should keep itself in check."

Irihi opened her mouth, about to point out that Hinata could easily heal her if something like that happened, but decided against it when she caught the knowing look in her aunt's eyes.

"See, you're learning already," Hinata laughed, patting Irihi's head. "Now we just have to get Tsuki to learn the same lesson."

"Right after you teach her that's never going to work," Enten said.

Hinata and Irihi both followed his gaze out into the yard, where Tsuki had given up on guessing and was now crawling all over Naruto in a desperate attempt to get the candy. But whenever she wasn't looking, Naruto would slip it into another pocket that was just out of her reach, and if she got too close, he would tickle her and move the candy while she was laughing.

"She could find the candy with her Byakugan, if she stopped laughing long enough to think of it and use it."

There was a hint of wistfulness in his voice, and Irihi knew why. Enten was the only person she knew that had technically been born, without the Byakugan, to a Hyuuga mother. It was almost as if some unknown force had seen to it that only Tsuki would inherit the Hyuuga bloodline. Normally, this didn't bother Enten at all, since he took after Naruto in more ways than one. But on some level, Enten was always aware of what he had been denied.

No one ever guessed that he was Hinata's son, just as no one guessed that Tsuki was Naruto's daughter. Tsuki either wasn't aware of this or didn't care, but it mattered to Enten, who wanted to identify with both of his parents. He didn't even want the Byakugan for what it could show him, he only wanted it so he would be easily recognizable as Hinata's son. Ironically, Irihi thought Enten would look pretty strange with Hyuuga eyes, and much preferred him with Naruto's deep blue ones, but didn't say so because she knew it was a sore point for him.

"In her defense, it's hard to think when you're being tickled," Irihi pointed out as she grinned wickedly and dug her fingers into Enten's sides. He practically fell out of her lap with a gasp, and Irihi was on him in an instant, laughing loudly as he struggled to get away from her quick hands. "Come on, little guy, think!" she teased, though she doubted he could even hear her over his own laughter. Another minute of this and he would have forgotten all about being born without the Byakugan.

But there was a sudden weight on Irihi's back as Tsuki yelled shrilly in her ear, "Tickle fight!" And then she had both of the twins on the ground, wriggling under her fingers, until a shadow fell over them.

"I see you've all forgotten the rule about tickling on Uzumaki land," Naruto said sternly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Rule?" Enten asked, trying to sound surprised. "What rule?"

"Tickling is forbidden?" Hinata guessed with a small smile.

"Yes, but WHY is it forbidden?" Naruto insisted.

Irihi pretended to think before answering. "Because it's highly reprehensible?"

"No, that's on Hyuuga land," Naruto replied in an exasperated tone. "Why is it forbidden HERE?"

"It attracts the Tickle Zombies!" Tsuki shouted.

Naruto gasped in apparent outrage. "You've summoned them AND called them by name! There'll be no stopping them now! They won't rest until every belly is thoroughly tickled!"

"So we'll fight them!" Irihi declared, getting to her feet.

"You can't!" Naruto cried, grabbing her shoulders. "Can't you see it's too late?"

"What? Why?"

"THEY'RE HERE!" Naruto wailed in horror as three of his clones came dashing around the side of the house, groaning loudly and wiggling their fingers madly.

Irihi didn't make any real effort to run, nor did the twins, so they were quickly caught and tickled as a result. And, as usual, Hinata got the treatment as well. She always did, because at some point Naruto went from being a victim to a zombie, and he was the only one allowed to tickle her.

* * *

Isai had more than a little trouble falling asleep that night. He was very worried about the state his life was in.

For one thing, his new sensei turned out to be a rather plain-looking, slightly heavy-set man named Kaneda that basically told them to do whatever they wanted, and that he'd point out any mistakes. Isai had been too scared to do anything, while Irihi and Hanako just shrugged and spent the rest of the time talking. He probably hadn't made a good first impression on Irihi or Kaneda, but it was too late now. Hanako had tried to cheer him up by saying they'd have another chance to impress their sensei before it was decided whether they became genin or not. But Isai had a very bad feeling that they were already taking the test and simply hadn't been told. For all they knew, Kaneda had been taking notes in his head all afternoon, and the whole team had already failed.

His depressing thoughts were interrupted as someone opened his bedroom door. Isai slowly lifted his head, and sighed in relief when a head of pink hair came into view. He instantly dropped his head and closed his eyes. "You couldn't sleep, either?"

"I just have some things on my mind," Hanako muttered as she lay down beside him and stared at the ceiling.

Isai knew from her tone that she was in no mood to talk about it, so he tried to change the subject. "So... now that you know her, do you think you'll be able to work with Irihi?"

Hanako grunted. "I guess so. Everyone else seems to like her, at least."

"She seemed to like you," Isai offered quietly.

With a loud, frustrated sigh, Hanako glared at him. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"I can't help it. There's so much to be worried about already, and I just want this to be one less thing. Please, Hanako?"

"Alright, she's cool!" Hanako snapped. "There, I said it. Happy?"

"Not really," Isai replied slowly, "but I'm not worried anymore, at least not about that."

Sighing again, Hanako reached over and grabbed his hand. "Just follow my lead like you always do, and you'll be fine. I won't let anything too bad happen to you."

"I know," he said softly, noticing for the first time how very warm Hanako's hand was. Glancing up at her face, he saw that her eyes were closed. "Sweet dreams, Hanako."

She grunted and kicked him in the ankle, so Isai took the hint and tried to get some sleep himself. His bed was strangely more comfortable now, even though Hanako was taking up a little more than half of it, and she'd probably punch him if he complained. But that was just Hanako, and, well, Isai had always felt better when Hanako was near, even when she was being stubborn or loud or poking him hard enough to leave a bruise. He could never actually tell her that, though: she'd look at him weird and claim he just felt safer with her, as he had every reason to. But Isai knew it was more than that, even if Hanako never would.

Within minutes, they were both asleep, their hands still joined.

* * *

Endnotes:

Isai: conspicuous color; remarkable man; details, particulars; genius, prodigy

Hanako: flower child

Is it just me or does nearly every team have a potential love triangle? Fanfics would have us believe so and then some, so I'd feel weird about creating a team without one. Nothing holds growing genin together like sexual tension, right? Well, maybe not.

I'm done scratching my head over the ordering of Lee's name. Anyway, Sakura would have achieved fame under her own family name, so it makes some sense that she might keep it after getting married. As for why Hanako has it as well, I just don't like being wrong unless I'm purposely being defiant.

Tickle Zombies aren't real. I just watch too much Lilo and Stitch.

And I know what you're probably thinking: doesn't Irihi ever go home?

Disclaimer: Yamanaka Isai, Haruno Hanako, Hyuuga Irihi, Aburame Shinju, Uzumaki Enten, and Uzumaki Tsuki belong to me. All other characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


	3. Rival and Friend

Notes: Just so there's no confusion, the trip Sayuri prepares for in Part 2 of "A Uchiha Among Uzumaki" is actually the first time she's ever left Konoha with Jiraiya. But this chapter takes place after she's come back (and then left again) a few times, so her "family" has gotten used to it. Sort of.

Summary: Irihi has chosen to save a friend. But doing so means turning away from Hyuuga tradition, taking on a new teacher, and upsetting her father...

**The Iron Hyuuga**

**Part 3: Rival and Friend**

**A Naruto Ficlet by**

**Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

The small, black-haired girl was determined to enjoy her lunch without interruption today. Every day that she'd "attended" the Konoha Academy, her mid-day meal had been unfailingly disturbed, and she was not about to let it happen again. She'd selected the tallest tree with the least number of branches, and was almost positive that even if some other students had seen her climb it, they'd never bother to climb it themselves.

She was working her way through her third rice ball when she heard a loud and rather suspicious thunk below her, followed by some slight panting, and then an even louder thunk.

"You better still be up there!" an unfortunately familiar voice shouted up to her. "I don't climb trees for just anybody!"

The girl slowly closed her red eyes in both frustration and resignation. Clearly, she was not going to be able to escape her rather persistent rival until her own skills improved dramatically. And despite being a relatively fast learner herself, the girl recognized that Irihi had years of private training as a foundation for her prowess.

Soon enough, a pair of pale lavender eyes appeared before her, narrowing in what the owner seemed to think was justified annoyance.

"You always pick the weirdest places to eat lunch, Sayuri-chan," Hyuuga Irihi said as she pulled herself onto the branch. "You're lucky I like hanging out with you so much."

Sayuri doubted that immensely, but said nothing. Instead, she turned back to her lunch, and again raised the half-eaten rice ball to her mouth.

"Hey, rice balls!"

This, apparently, was some sort of signal to suddenly trade lunches, because Sayuri found herself nearly biting into Irihi's bento. A quick glance to the left showed that her snatched half of rice ball had vanished into the hungry Hyuuga girl's mouth, and, having no real desire to pursue it, Sayuri chose instead to open the lunch she'd been given. It was fairly standard, and she was mildly disappointed until her eyes landed on one thing in particular.

A cinnamon bun, made with such obvious skill and love that it simply could not be ignored.

Sayuri was not aware of the drool running down her chin as she lifted the bun to her lips.

"Halfsies!"

Sayuri blinked, and was extremely furious to find herself holding only half of a cinnamon bun. She stuffed the remaining half into her mouth with a quickness, before that was taken as well.

"We really need to work on your speed, Sayuri-chan," Irihi announced, with the practiced ease of someone used to speaking around a mouthful of cinnamon bun. "Those eyes won't help you at all if you're moving in slow motion."

Sayuri glared at her rival, but remained silent.

"Don't get mad at me. I know you've got special circumstances and everything, but that's even more reason to learn. I'll keep showing you anything I know, and one of my aunts could help you with your speed, if we catch her in a good mood. Oba-sama is the fastest person I know."

Sayuri was not quite as enthusiastic about this idea. It would mean venturing to places in the village that were so far unknown her, which in turn would undoubtedly involve encountering... people. She was not a fan of people in general, and had only come across three worth remembering.

Jiraiya-sensei, with legs like tree trunks, an easy grin that lit up his entire face, and thick arms that were just made for climbing on.

Hina-mama, with her soft words and bright, welcoming smiles.

And Irihi, largely because she'd wormed her way onto the list by being such a pest.

In short, going somewhere new was not a welcome idea. However, if it meant getting stronger, or faster, or the chance to copy new jutsu, she could not afford to pass it up.

"I will go," she decided aloud.

The Hyuuga girl beamed at her. "I'll see what I can do." With that, she slung an arm around the dark-haired girl's neck, nearly choking her in the process, and pulled her in for a quick hug. "Have a great day, Sayuri-chan!" she sang before hopping off of the branch.

Sayuri swallowed experimentally, carefully rubbing her throat. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the Hyuuga girl run back toward the Academy, waist-length dark brown hair streaming behind her. Had anyone been watching in that moment, they would not have mistaken the two girls as friends.

No one in Konoha had seen the true color of Sayuri's eyes, because she never looked at anything without her Sharingan. But only when Hyuuga Irihi was near did Sayuri's eyes glow with so much hatred that it could not be mistaken for anything else.

* * *

"You're the smartest girl I know, Shinju. What should I do?"

Aburame Shinju raised her head to look directly into the hopeful face of her friend. "It's not an answer that you're searching for," she said at last, her eyes scanning the nearby bushes for a certain species of insect.

Irihi blinked slowly, far too used to Shinju's vague answers to be disappointed. "It isn't?"

"No." Shinju looked down, her face once again swallowed up by the shadow of her wide, black straw hat. "You want someone older to tell you that what you wish to do is allowed, even though you know your father would frown upon it, and possibly punish you for even thinking it."

"But it shouldn't be wrong!" Irihi practically whined, causing Shinju to grimace slightly. "Since when is it wrong to want to learn all sorts of different fighting styles? It might save my life one day!"

"You do realize that you are not a Uchiha, correct?" Shinju asked after a moment.

Irihi frowned at her. "Of course I know that. I only wish I was sometimes..."

"Then you have no real excuse for trying to learn that style of taijutsu. You are a Hyuuga, and Hyuuga learn Gentle Fist, just as Aburame-"

"Yes, bugs, I know," Irihi groaned. "Why can't I have bugs? Or a dog? Or copy any jutsu I want?"

"You probably couldn't control any of those very well, because you are a Hyuuga. No one can pick their clan, but we must live by their traditions." Shinju noticed the sad look on her friend's face, and quietly cleared her throat. "Anyway, if you had bugs all over you, it would just mean you needed a bath."

Irihi instantly exploded into laughter, causing Shinju to grit her teeth. It was better than her feeling down, supposedly, although sometimes, Shinju wondered...

"Thanks for cheering me up, Shinju," Irihi said, patting her shoulder briefly. "I think I'll go see if I can find someone old to agree with me."

"I said older, not old!" Shinju snapped, but Irihi had already run off, leaving a long, rising cloud of dust as she went.

* * *

"What do you want to learn Iron Fist for, Irihi-chan?" the blond boy asked curiously.

"Yeah! You're a girl!" the pink-haired girl added, pointing at Irihi with a long blade of grass for emphasis.

Irihi sighed and put her head in her hands as her teammates looked on expectantly. Somehow, she had known this probably wasn't the best idea. Though different as night and day, her teammates Hanako and Isai had an odd way of thinking the same thing, just in distinctly different ways.

"Never mind why I want to learn it," Irihi answered at last. "Hanako-chan, do you think your father would teach me?"

"Maybe, but I bet he'd want to know why, too," Hanako replied, looking mad and just a bit hurt.

"I just want to, okay?" Irihi admitted desperately. "So can you talk to him? Or just ask-"

"But, Irihi-chan, you do know how dangerous Iron Fist is, don't you?" the boy interrupted worriedly.

Irihi would've hit him, if she weren't so fond of him. "Isai-kun, we're ninja! Everything is dangerous!"

"But this is extra dangerous," Hanako was quick to add. "For the user, too. That's what he really meant." She paused and looked at the boy for confirmation, and when he nodded, she shot Irihi a smug look. "See? You should probably just stick with Gent-"

"I don't like Gentle Fist!" Irihi howled, stomping her feet in the dirt. "I like Iron Fist! I-"

"You shouldn't shout things like that, Irihi-chan," Hanako warned her, glancing around to make sure they hadn't been overheard.

"You shouldn't shout at all, unless you're in an emergency," Isai couldn't help adding.

Irihi glared at them. "Well, if I ever get my butt kicked because I didn't know how to break a guy's arm three times over, you two better be there so I can say I knew it would happen. That's what comes from not learning stuff like Iron Fist!"

"How would you know?" Hanako asked. "You don't know Iron Fist, and that's never happened to you!" She was actually more upset about the implication that she would just LET some guy come up and break Irihi's arm. After all, they'd run into a few people that could take down ONE of them, but certainly not both at the same time. Nobody was THAT good...

"So I want to learn it, to keep it from happening eventually! Why can't anyone see that?"

"But you're already plenty strong, Irihi-chan," Isai noted. "Nobody our age can beat you."

"I think you're too strong as it is," Hanako chimed in. "If you break any more of my kunai, you're going to have to start replacing them."

Without a word, Irihi got to her feet and started walking away. This was not a good sign, as Irihi rarely did anything quietly.

"Um... Irihi-chan?" Isai called after her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find someone in this dumb village that realizes how stupid it is to limit yourself to just one fighting style!" Irihi snapped over her shoulder as she stomped off.

Biting his lip, Isai threw a worried look at Hanako. "Shouldn't we stop her?"

"How? I'm in no mood to get my butt kicked today," Hanako replied sharply. "Are you?" She sighed and shook her head, grabbing his hand. "Well, come on. We'd better get going."

"Where?" Isai murmured as she tugged him along behind her.

"Home, of course. I have to talk to my parents about this. Even if they say no, maybe they can convince Irihi that she's got a good thing in Gentle Fist."

"And if they can't?"

"Then you'll tell her you think girls who practice Gentle Fist only are sexy," Hanako replied at once.

"I'll... WHAT!" Isai gasped.

Hanako smirked. "Well, you can't just tell her that you think she's sexy as is; THAT would be weird. This way, you have an excuse."

"But I can't... Irihi wouldn't... that isn't..."

"Don't give me that. You just have to work that famous Yamanaka charm on her. And it must be real, because how else could you be standing here existing?"

Isai turned red in the face. "Actually, that's got more to do with repro-" He stopped himself, his expression twisting in disgust. "Ugh! Hanako, stop making me think about my MOM that way!"

She shot him a completely unrepentant grin. "For a brainiac, you're pretty slow sometimes, Isai."

* * *

"Oh, I remember this!" Ino cackled, pressing her finger to a picture in the photo album. "This was the day the kids graduated from the Academy! Look, Sakura!"

"Please don't remind me," Sakura sighed, shaking her head. She didn't even have to look at the picture to know what Ino was talking about.

Naruto and Lee had been determined to be the first to congratulate Irihi, Isai, and Hanako on their success, and they'd whisked the kids away to parts unknown only seconds after the Leaf headbands were passed out. All anyone knew for sure was that an hour later, all five had returned, capable of producing "Nice Guy Poses" on demand. Isai's grin fell just short of blinding and was a little crooked, but as far as Ino was concerned, that was an improvement on the usual pose. At the other end of the spectrum, Hanako had been so good at it that she ruined three pictures with the glare from her teeth.

"Aw, you're not proud of your little bunshin for smiling so big, forehead girl?" Ino teased, nudging her friend in the ribs.

"No," Sakura replied firmly. "The only useful purpose of that pose is befuddling enemies in battle, and even then it's risky. Hanako brushes her teeth ten times a day as it is. I'm just glad she got my hair."

"At least you can still talk to her. Yesterday, I swear my Isai tried to explain to me the scientific principles behind why girls are naturally better genjutsu users than boys."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't want to hear that?"

"Well, of course I wanted to! But I was hoping he'd just say something like 'girls are better than boys at lots of things' and leave it that. By the time he got done, I'd pretty much forgotten what we were talking about in the first place." Ino sighed and shook her head a little. "Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of him. But sometimes I wonder if our kids got switched at birth."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "How would that explain the hair color matching up? It's probably just the universe's way of getting back at you for making fun of my study habits back then. Maybe if you'd spent more time reading with me, you'd be able to follow Isai's train of thought when he starts lecturing."

"I'll remember that when Hanako comes to me for dating advice," Ino promised with a smirk.

"It wouldn't matter what you said; she'll end up with Isai eventually, once he figures that out Irihi is a lost cause."

Ino looked more than a little surprised. "You think she's into girls, too?"

"One girl in particular, actually," Sakura replied. Before she could say anything more, there was an insistent knocking at the door.

"You expecting someone?" Ino asked as Sakura went to answer the door.

"No, but you know Naruto never says when he's coming by, and... Irihi-chan?" Sakura blinked in surprise as the Hyuuga girl stared intently at her... well, through her, if the bulging veins around her eyes were any indication. "Hanako isn't here, if that's who you're looking for."

"I was really hoping to speak to your husband, Haruno-san," Irihi replied as her eyes returned to normal, "but since he's not here..."

"Why don't you come in for a while?" Sakura suggested, guiding the girl inside with a hand on her back. "He should return within the hour, and there is something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"If it's about the kunai I broke-" Irihi began nervously.

"You're not in any trouble," Ino assured her with a warm smile. "At least, not that WE know of."

"Oh. Okay then." Irihi instantly relaxed and plopped down next to her on the couch. "So what are we talking about?"

"Boys," Ino said at once. "But if you'd rather change the subject..."

Irihi shrugged, not looking all that interested. "They're okay sometimes, I guess. The only one I ever got to know really well was Isai, and that was because he ended up on my team. I must have lucked out with him, though, because the rest just make me want to beat them up."

"So you like him?" Ino asked, trying not to seem too curious.

"Um... probably not in the way you mean," Irihi decided after a short pause. "Anyway, she'd never admit it, but Hanako would be mad if I did. He was her friend first, and I think they actually share a brain sometimes, so I wouldn't want to come between them."

Sakura quietly cleared her throat. "There's no one you like in that way?"

Irihi considered the question. "Hmm... I guess not. I don't have a lot of time for things like that. I'm always training, or with my friends, or visiting all my aunts and Naruto oji-san."

"How's Sayuri doing?" Ino asked abruptly.

That caught Irihi off guard, but she recovered fairly fast. "Okay. She still won't talk to anyone but me, and she's not really happy here, but she stopped biting anyone that got close. That's an improvement, right?"

Having been the first person that Sayuri bit, Sakura could only nod. It had been all her fault, but the girl had reminded her so much of Sasuke that Sakura had forgotten Tsunade's warnings to handle Sayuri carefully or not at all. After learning that the girl had later bitten Naruto (who'd probably asked for it), and then Hinata (who was about the nicest person in Konoha), Sakura decided not to take it too personally. If Irihi had ever been bitten, she'd never told anyone.

"I've tried to make her understand that everyone here isn't out to get her, but she just won't trust anyone else," Irihi sighed. "I'm always afraid of what goes through her head when she goes off with Jiraiya-sama on those long training trips. She'll be all alone, in her head, anyway. But she won't talk to my friends, and she only leaves the house to see me. I don't know what I'm going to do with her. She won't even pet Akamaru!"

"She's still talking to you," Sakura said. "That's something, at least."

Irihi didn't say anything. It wasn't like she and Sayuri had long, involved conversations. Mostly she talked while Sayuri said next to nothing. Usually she just tried to pretend that Sayuri was listening, whether that was the case or not.

"So what did you need to see Lee about?" Ino asked, interrupting Irihi's thoughts.

"Oh, that." Irihi hesitated for a moment, and then told them everything.

* * *

No one had thrown anything, at least.

On the other hand, Irihi had always thought that her father was most frightening when he appeared to be impassive and unaffected by anything that she did. It didn't surprise her at all that Hanako's parents had told her own about her desire to learn Iron Fist. Lee wasn't the type to go behind a friend's back, and Sakura had dealt with Hanako's own stubborn streaks many times. Irihi had known that she'd have to discuss this with her parents at some point, anyway.

Despite the fact that her mother hadn't been completely against the idea, Irihi knew better than to mistake that as support. She had easily read the hesitation and even fear in her mother's eyes, so it was still pretty shocking that Hyuuga Tenten would supposedly allow her only child to attempt something so potentially dangerous.

Of course, there was a good chance that Tenten had known that her husband would shoot the idea down instantly.

"That you would even dare to ask permission for such a thing," Neji said quietly, closing his eyes for a few seconds, "both astounds and disgusts me, Irihi. It has become clear to me that you have forgotten just what a ninja really is."

"I haven't!" Irihi protested at once.

"If that is true, then you have definitely forgotten who you are. You are the light of the Hyuuga Clan, and you are my daughter. I will not allow you to pursue training that would one day destroy your body."

"But you don't understand, Papa! I-"

"What is the difference between a weapon and a tool?" Neji demanded, his eyes flashing angrily.

Irihi bit her lip and took a step back, but was able to recall that particular lesson. "A weapon is mindless, easily discarded, only able to defend or destroy, and cannot change its function without influence from a person. A tool can think for itself, and act under its own will if the need arises."

Neji nodded stiffly. "You are not one of your mother's weapons, nor did we raise you to become one. We will not discard you, and we will not allow you to needlessly harm yourself."

"What if there was a need?" Irihi asked quietly. "What if I had an excellent reason to do this?"

"There are precious few things in this world that would convince me to sacrifice my only child to unimaginable pain," Neji replied coldly. "What reason do you have?"

"I want to protect someone," Irihi whispered. "Someone I love dearly."

It was obvious from their expressions that neither of her parents had been expecting that revelation. And that was saying something, since the more paranoid one had the Byakugan.

"You mean... the twins?" Tenten asked weakly. "Because between Temari and Akamaru, they're more than-"

"No, Mama. Someone I'm not related to at all. A friend."

"Explain to us why you specifically need to know Iron Fist to protect this... friend," Neji challenged her.

Irihi sighed. "It's not just Iron Fist I need to know. I want to learn lots of different fighting styles, not just for my friend, but for me, too. What if I meet an opponent that I can't touch? What if someone is faster than me? What if there are people out there training specifically to defeat our clan's techniques? Everything you've taught me might prove useless against a ninja like that. Do you know how scary that idea is for me? As strong as I am, I couldn't save anyone from a person like that. Not my friends... not even you and Mama. I couldn't live with myself if that ever happened. So please let me do this, Papa, if not for my friend, then for my peace of mind."

She could tell from the way he frowned that he was at least thinking about what she had said. Peace of mind was something that he had desperately needed when he was her age, and it would bother him if she went through the same torment. Perhaps she didn't have her father wrapped around her little finger like some girls did, but Irihi knew how protective he was of her. In fact, that's why he was probably so upset in the first place: he thought her overall ability would suffer from this... sidetracking, as he no doubt saw it.

"This friend is worth risking your body? Your future? Your life?" Neji asked quietly.

"Papa," Irihi responded slowly, "you've taught me well. I wouldn't put myself at risk without a good reason. I would never do something desperate unless there was no other way. I know who I am, and who I will become one day. I could never forget that... just as I could never turn my back on someone who puts their trust in me."

"Neji," Tenten said suddenly, touching his shoulder. "It's different for her, you know? She isn't Lee. She can learn more than one way to fight. And she's not crazy. She wouldn't put her body on the line if there was any other way to win." Tenten gave her daughter a firm look. "Would you?"

"Of course not, Mama!" Irihi said instantly. "But that first means I need your permission, to learn other ways of protecting myself and what's important to me."

"I won't try to stop you," Tenten promised, "but only if your father agrees as well."

Irihi couldn't help it, her heart sank just a little as she looked at her father. Unlike some parents, Hyuuga Neji had no problem with being the one who shot down his child's dreams, if he thought it was for the best. He had far too much pride in the Hyuuga Clan's own techniques, and would probably demand that Irihi train herself in nothing else until she had at least mastered those first. But that would take years, and there just wasn't time, not when she needed to learn Iron Fist now, before things changed too much...

"Please, Papa," Irihi whispered softly. "If I don't do this, my friend won't survive much longer. And if that happens, I'll be no good to anyone, anyway. She means that much to me. Please...?"

"I will not doom your friend to die out of weakness," Neji said at last. "Nor will I allow you to throw your life away."

Irihi blinked, not certain what had just happened. But then she noticed that her father was leaving the room. "Papa?" she called uncertainly. "I don't understand..."

Neji paused for a moment. "I will talk to Lee. If he agrees to my terms, then you may train under him. If he does not, then you may search for another style to learn. But either way, if I detect a decline in any area of your skills, you will cease any extra training at once. We will not have this conversation again, Irihi."

And before Irihi could think to thank him, he had swept out of the room.

Tenten sighed and shook her head. "I hope you really are up for this, Irihi. Your father is the stricter teacher, but the training Lee went through to get as good as he is... it's brutal."

"You don't think I can do it, Mama?" Irihi asked softly.

"I know you can do it," Tenten replied, smiling sadly at her daughter. "I just hoped you'd never have to."

* * *

The one thing that had always impressed Irihi about Hanako's father was that he always seemed to be in a good mood. In all the time she'd known Rock Lee, he had never failed to greet her with a huge smile. Often he would toss her several feet into the air, only to catch her just before she could hit the ground. Oddly enough, this had never scared Irihi, although they'd learned not to do it in front of her parents.

For those reasons, Irihi was very surprised, not to mention disappointed, when she arrived for her first lesson to find Lee frowning. The expression looked completely alien on his face, and for a moment, Irihi thought she had walked into the wrong house. But very few people wore that much green on purpose, and no one else had a basement that doubled as an indoor dojo, with a mural (a beach at sunset, complete with crashing waves) on the wall.

"Welcome to our first training session, Hyuuga-kun," Lee said in a strangely formal tone. "I will be your supplementary taijutsu instructor. Your father has explained to me that you have a strong desire to learn the legendary yet commonly misunderstood taijutsu style known as Iron Fist. However, this is ill-advised for someone of your talents, so I'm afraid that our focus will lie in another area."

"Wait! You're not going to teach me Iron Fist?" Irihi demanded. "Why not?"

Lee sighed and closed his eyes. "For the very same reason that I will not teach it to my own daughter, or anyone else that has access to a more personally suited fighting style. Some types of victories simply are not worth their high costs. I could not, in good conscience, instruct the daughter of my greatest rival and friend in a style that is so self-damaging and potentially fatal. I am still a taijutsu specialist, but now I am also a father, and I must ask you to respect that."

While Irihi understood his argument, she didn't really think it applied in this case. Hanako was already horrendously strong when she wasn't using any extra chakra, so teaching her Iron Fist would be like coating a charging bull's horns in steel: there was going to be serious damage either way.

"Okay, so what are you going to teach me?" Irihi asked.

Nodding, Lee gestured to a low table against the wall, where a small collection of weights were resting. "There are many methods to gain power. This is a rather dated one, but I found it to be extremely helpful in my own training, and your father agreed to allow you to use it as well."

"So... do I throw these at people?" Irihi guessed.

"If you follow my instructions," Lee answered confidently, "you will never need to."

Irihi's eyes widened a bit. "Okay."

"Let each weight represent a friend that you feel you need to defend," Lee said quietly. "When you are strong enough to take all of your friends with you on your daily runs, then we can move on. Now, count your friends."

The girl slowly stepped forward, knelt down, and began moving weights into a pile in front of her. She murmured the names of her friends as she went.

"Isai-kun... Hanako-chan... Shinju... Sayuri-chan..."

Irihi paused, frowned, and continued to add to the pile.

"Who are those friends?" Lee asked, placing his hand over her own.

"The same ones. But since they're all I have, they mean twice as much to me. Plus, Sayuri-chan deserves three, since she's my best friend, and she needs more protection than the others. And one more... in case I make another friend. That's ten for an even set."

"I admire your ambition. But this is all I can do for you, for now. When you can no longer feel the weights, I will teach you stances, blocks, and counters. Then, you will have learned all that I am willing to teach you. But even that should be more than enough to protect your friends."

"I can totally handle that!" Irihi assured him with a grin. "But, um, I have a question. Are you always going to be... like this? I liked you better when you were yelling about youth and stuff. It's so inspirational!"

"Really?" Lee asked slowly, clenching his fists at his sides as his arms trembled.

"Yeah! I'd be really proud to have a teacher that got excited about our training, and everything else! Sometimes you just have to shout it out, you know?"

He nodded stiffly, biting his lip hard. "Yes, I definitely know that feeling!"

"So why are you holding it in?" Irihi asked curiously. "Did Papa tell you to be proper when you're training me? That's boring! You should be yourself! Go on and let the power of youth run free!"

"YES, my cute young student!" Lee shouted abruptly, happy tears streaming down his face as he raised a fist dramatically in the air. "The whole world shall marvel at our youthful power! Let us begin with... TWENTY LAPS AROUND KONOHA!"

Irihi's smile faltered. "Um... twenty?" she asked uncertainly.

"And if we cannot do that, then it shall be a thousand push-ups!"

"Maybe we should take this one step at a time, start out slow-"

"We have already wasted too much time talking!" Lee exclaimed, grabbing Irihi's hands. "Come, my cute young student! We must run NOW, so that others might see our youthfulness sparkling in the brilliant sunlight! Take up your friends and follow me!" With that, he flashed her a blinding smile and then burst from the room... literally, and Irihi could only stare in shock at the new, Lee-shaped hole in the wall.

"DAMMIT, LEE!" Sakura shouted from upstairs. "THAT'S THE THIRD TIME THIS WEEK!"

"Do not despair, my lovely, youthful flower! My cute young student and I shall repair the wall when we return! And if we cannot do that-"

"YOU'D DAMN WELL BETTER DO IT!"

Once the noise had died down, Irihi turned back to her weights, suddenly wishing she hadn't picked out so many. But, with a resigned sigh, she began to load down her clothes with them. As she picked up the last three, a smile flickered across her face. "Don't worry, Sayuri-chan. I'll never leave you behind."

* * *

"I TOLD her not to do it! She NEVER listens to me!" Hanako growled, stomping as she paced up and down the hallway. "Irihi has no idea what she's getting into! If she wanted to get stronger that bad, it'd be easier and LESS painful to just keep throwing herself off of a cliff!"

"Hanako," Sakura said gently from her seat on the staircase, "you're going to wake Isai again."

Hanako shot her sleeping teammate a glare as he grumbled and burrowed deeper into the blanket draped over him.

"Good! He's not supposed to be sleeping! He's supposed to be waiting up for Irihi like the rest of us are!"

"There's really no need, as I've told you a hundred times already. Your father has never forgotten where we live, and he wouldn't dare not come home when he still has the basement wall to fix."

There was an edge to Sakura's tone, and Hanako barely suppressed a shiver. Sometimes her mother could be truly frightening if she was in a bad enough mood.

"Anyway," Sakura continued calmly, lightly stroking Isai's head, "I'm sure it's going to take a few weeks before Irihi gets used to all that extra weight. She'll probably be so tired that your father will have to carry her back here."

The words were barely out of her mouth when the front door slammed open, revealing a beaming Lee with Irihi tucked under his right arm. "Hello, my gorgeous cherry blossoms! Your Guardian Green Beast has returned! You may now bask in the warmth of my youthful protection!" His grin only widened at seeing the stupefied looks on their faces, mistaking their expressions for awe.

"Um, Dad? Why is Irihi covered in dirt?" Hanako asked.

"And unconscious?" Sakura added hesitantly, already shifting into medic-nin mode.

Lee laughed and patted Hanako on her head. "Fear not, my beautiful pink maidens! My cute young student's spirit is bursting with youthful power! Her body, however, has not yet reached its true potential. But a few more days of this will have her in perfect shape!"

"But WHY is she covered in DIRT?" Hanako demanded.

"Ah, that! Well, I am sorry to say that Irihi was only able to complete one lap with her new weights! However, she was so determined to finish it alone, that she ran until she could only walk, and walked until she could only crawl, and crawled until she finally reached her goal!" Lee abruptly burst into tears. "Oh, it was such a tremendously youthful sight, I shall never forget it! I have no doubt that her parents will be so proud!"

Sakura sighed as she took Irihi from him. "Hanako, get a bath ready for Irihi; we can't send her home looking like this. Lee, I believe YOU have a basement wall to fix."

"Say no more, my lovely flower!" Lee cried, raising her free hand to his lips for a tender kiss. "It shall be done!" He sprinted off to the basement, apparently not the least bit tired.

Hanako stared after him with a blank look on her face. "You know, I'm really starting to think he's forgotten our names, Mom."

Sakura shrugged. "Look on the bright side: that means he can't shout them out in public."

"Good point."

* * *

As usual, Sayuri didn't say a word as she sat down for dinner with the Uzumaki Clan. It didn't bother her that Naruto was away on a mission, or that Temari was present tonight. Naruto was just okay, and Temari... well, Sayuri didn't know what to make of the Sand-nin, either. They rarely ever talked, and Sayuri got the impression that Temari didn't like her for whatever reason. That didn't matter. The only reasons Sayuri ever agreed to return to Konoha with Jiraiya were Irihi, Shizune, and Hinata. Irihi was always eager to share any new jutsu she'd picked up, Shizune had access to tons of restricted jutsu that she probably shouldn't have been so eager to share, and Hinata... she was home for Sayuri, plain and simple. No one else had ever been that happy to see her (not consistently, anyway), and though Sayuri didn't look forward to all the hugs and kisses whenever she came back, she had come to accept them as part of the overall Hina-mama experience.

And then there were the twins.

Sayuri didn't care for them, but Hinata and Naruto were clearly too attached to even consider getting rid of them. Tsuki talked far too much, and Enten not nearly enough. Often Sayuri found herself leaving the house just so Hinata wouldn't ask her to spend time with them. There was never an end to Tsuki's questions, which were either pointless or too personal to answer. Enten was nearly as bad with his endless staring, which only bothered Sayuri because she could never tell what he was thinking. These "quirks" were especially obvious at the dinner table, since it was one of the few times that Sayuri had no choice but to be near the twins (thankfully, they were on the opposite side of the table).

Not surprisingly, Sayuri finished eating first. She accepted her evening hug and kiss from Hinata, and took a Sunny Bun from the counter out of habit on her way back to her house. Halfway there, she paused, whistled, and tossed the treat to Akamaru when he ran up. The huge dog caught the cinnamon bun in his mouth, and gently bumped her arm with his head in gratitude before he took off again. He probably didn't need the extra food, since he ate anything that Sayuri had leftover from breakfast and lunch. They rarely spent any time together, but Akamaru had obviously taken a liking to her. If she was late getting home, he would wait for her at the gate, and the times she hadn't come back at all, he'd come looking for her. There were times when she felt like he was actually her dog, and she suspected it was the same for Irihi.

Oddly enough, just as Sayuri pushed thoughts of her rival aside for the moment, she looked down to find a note sitting on her pillow. There were no names on it, simply because there was no need. Irihi was the only one who ever had reason to leave her notes, or anything else, for that matter.

The note was short, as if Irihi thought Sayuri would have an extremely short attention span when it came to such things. It almost bothered her, how well Irihi knew her. Very little was hidden from that pair of Hyuuga eyes.

"I'm training in a whole new fighting style! If you get back before the chuunin exams, I'll show it to you."

It was the sort of thing Irihi always did: teasing her with the promise of new moves, all the while obviously trying to befriend her. Even worse, it was working: the more Sayuri learned, the harder it was for her to hate Irihi. At best, they were friendly rivals now, and she couldn't decide who was getting the worst end of the deal, but she had a strong suspicion that it wasn't Irihi.

"Nee-san?" a voice asked suddenly.

Sayuri spun around, only to find Enten standing in the doorway. His deep blue eyes were fixed solely on her, as usual, and she had to suppress the strong urge to do something, anything, so he wouldn't just be watching her stand there doing nothing. "What?" she asked at length.

"Is it true you're leaving again tomorrow? With Jiraiya-sama?"

She almost asked how he knew that, but figured Hinata had told him, so he and Tsuki wouldn't wonder where she'd gone the next day. "Yes, probably in the morning."

"Oh." He didn't look disappointed or upset in any way, which surprised Sayuri. She had been under the impression that Enten liked having her around, for whatever reason. If anything, he looked as if he'd been expecting such an answer.

"Why do you ask?" Sayuri murmured.

Enten took a deep breath. "If you want," he said softly, looking away from her for the first time, "I could move your things into the main house while you're gone."

To that, she said nothing, at first. Hinata had been trying to convince her to join the rest of the family since day one, but even now, Sayuri was resistant to the idea. She wasn't an Uzumaki, after all, and even if she were, she wouldn't have felt like one.

"No," Sayuri said after a long moment.

"You could have my room," Enten offered at once. "I could move in with Tsuki. Or you and I could share my room, if you'd like that better."

If Sayuri absolutely had to share a room with one of the twins, she would've picked Enten in a heartbeat. He was quieter, if nothing else. Even so, she had no intention of doing so in the near future. One day, perhaps, but definitely not any time soon.

"No, Enten. I will continue to stay here."

"Please, nee-san?" he whispered, his voice trembling the slightest bit.

She blinked in surprise. Enten had never cried in front of her, at least not once he'd gotten old enough to develop a sense of pride. But if she was reading his expression right, he was seconds away from crying now, all because she'd refused him such a little thing.

"If it's because you don't like me..." he began.

"It isn't that," Sayuri replied. And it wasn't, not really. She liked him better than Tsuki, at least. But if all he wanted was to be near her, there were other ways to do it. "You may spend the night here with me, if you want," she offered, not really expecting him to choose her over his own family.

Enten immediately stuck his head outside. "Akamaru!" he hissed. "Tell Mom I'm staying here tonight!"

Sayuri stared at him in slight disbelief as Enten closed the door and turned to look at her. "Why?" she asked simply.

"You're my big sister," he replied just as simply, "but it's harder to look up to you when you're not here."

She had no answer to that. Certainly Sayuri knew that Hinata and Naruto didn't care that she wasn't actually their child; if anything, they tried to fool her into thinking she was and always had been. And though Tsuki never said so (and there was very little that the girl wouldn't say), Sayuri didn't think either of them thought of each other as true sisters.

But Enten, she realized now, was different. He hadn't been nervous the first time they'd been introduced. Hinata had told him that Sayuri was part of the family, and he'd instantly accepted it. He'd never intentionally made her feel unwelcome, nor had he reacted badly when Sayuri got extra attention from his parents. And when Irihi came over specifically to see her, Enten made himself scarce, as if he knew he'd just get in the way of Sayuri's learning. Occasionally he might ask about Jiraiya, or the Sharingan, or certain jutsu that no one his age had any business knowing of, but those were largely things Sayuri didn't mind talking about, sometimes.

"Tsuki isn't going to come here looking for you, is she?" Sayuri asked after a moment.

"Nope. She'd be too afraid of making you mad," Enten replied as he sat down on the floor. "She can tell she's not your favorite person, and it would be bad if you two got into a fight. I mean, we're twins, so I'm supposed to take her side, but I wouldn't feel right about it unless Irihi was here to take your side."

"You don't like your sister?"

Enten paused noticeably. "Tsuki doesn't mean to get on anyone's nerves, not really. When I get hurt, even if it's just a scratch, she'll heal it without being asked. When we spar, she won't use her Byakugan because I don't have it. She cries every time you leave, because she thinks you're happier being away from her." He paused and smiled sadly. "You know what's funny? She always wants to hold my hand, even if it's embarrassing for me. But in the few times when it should be embarrassing for her... she'll still hold my hand. She's not a bad sister, nee-san. She just doesn't know how to be your sister. I'm still trying to figure it out myself, and we know better than to bug you by asking."

Sayuri was in fact glad they didn't ask, but not for the reason Enten was probably thinking of. The truth was, she had no idea what sisters were supposed to be like. Tsuki was the only one she'd ever seen, and Sayuri could only hope that the rest were vastly different.

"Why do you try so hard?" Sayuri asked quietly. "It shouldn't matter."

Enten stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head. "You may not see it or feel like it, but you're an Uzumaki to us, the same way Irihi is. We don't turn our backs on family, and you're family. That's why we try. Plus, it makes Mama and Irihi happy."

"No good can come of your thinking that way, Enten," Sayuri sighed. "I am of the Uchiha. You'd all be better off without their problems. The two are far too different."

"That has to be the funniest thing you've ever said," Enten replied with a smile. "Did you forget that the Sharingan originated from the Byakugan? That means that all Uchiha and Hyuuga are related. Just because they don't like to admit it doesn't make it any less true. You can deny it all you want, but at the very least, you're related to Mama, which makes you related to us."

"The Hyuuga can't even get along with each other, and the Uchiha barely exist at all. There is absolutely no reason to consider the two clans related."

"Honestly, I don't," Enten admitted. "But that doesn't matter. Even if they weren't related at all, you'd still be my big sister. It's who you are to me, nee-san, and nothing you can say will change that."

Sayuri frowned at him. "You are all endlessly frustrating people, you know."

He grinned at her. "That's even more proof that we're related, nee-san."

For some reason, Sayuri was unable to think up a suitable reply before they both went to bed.

**End of Part 3.**

* * *

Endnotes:

If I understand Guy's reasoning for teaching Iron Fist to Lee correctly, he did it because Lee was willing to risk everything to prove himself a great ninja. But that also takes into consideration that taijutsu was all Lee had to work with. Irihi's case is far different: even without Iron Fist, she could be a great ninja. But she wants to learn Iron Fist, not only to increase her own arsenal, but so she can then teach it to Sayuri. So it's not that Irihi wants to destroy her body, it's just that she's trying to protect Sayuri by teaching her multiple ways of fighting. And as we all know, Iron Fist certainly looks more impressive than some other styles.

Just to clarify: Irihi is only learning stances, blocks, and counters from Lee, all while wearing weights. No jutsu, and no opening chakra gates (those are the self-damaging parts of Iron Fist that Neji wants her to avoid). So at best, she's only going to rival Lee at a similar age, with his weights off and no gates opened, while limited largely to punches and kicks. But don't worry, nobody said she couldn't make up her own techniques to take advantage of the new speed and strength…

I understand there's some confusion about the "Beast of Konoha" nicknames: supposedly Guy is the blue one, and Lee is the green one (or vice versa, I dunno). Apparently it's got something to do with translating "azure" from Japanese. Of course what's really silly is that you almost always see them both wearing only green ANYWAY, so unless Guy is crazy AND colorblind... maybe his jounin sensei gave HIM too many boots to the head? Honestly, I think it's all a little disturbing. Ever since Austin Powers, every time I hear a guy call himself any kind of beast, I throw up in my mouth just a little bit. And I think you'll agree we could all do with a lot less of that, thanks.

Disclaimer: Hyuuga Irihi, Uchiha Sayuri, Yamanaka Isai, Haruno Hanako, Uzumaki Enten, Uzumaki Tsuki, and Aburame Shinju belong to me, all other characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from this.


	4. Michio of the Deep Forest

Notes: A reviewer asked if there would be any missions. So you can thank them for this chapter, because I was totally going to skip to the chuunin exams and only refer to the events in this chapter as a lengthy flashback. But now I'm glad I didn't.

Summary: Irihi's team is sent to escort a trio of nomadic Inuzuka back to Konoha, but one of them holds a powerful secret…

**The Iron Hyuuga**

**Part 4: Michio of the Deep Forest**

**A Naruto Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

As a rule, nobody went into Irihi's room.

They were allowed, of course, but it just wasn't a very good idea. Very few things inside the room would be a welcome sight to Hyuuga eyes, for example, so most of the family tended to avoid it altogether.

Irihi didn't mind this at all. She needed some privacy from time to time, and found that hanging a life-sized poster of her beloved "Unkie Gaara" on her door made for a very effective "Do Not Disturb" sign. She wasn't sure why this was, since she found him positively adorable, but everyone else got quiet and nervous whenever her redheaded uncle was brought up. Temari had explained that Gaara was something of an "acquired taste," but Irihi couldn't really wrap her mind around the concept. Personally, she had loved Gaara from the very moment she got her first plushie, and was well on her way to owning the world's only complete set (she owned several limited editions that there were only two of, with the other usually belonging to Hinata).

At any rate, most people never even got past the door, so the amount that knew what was actually inside the room could be probably be counted on one hand. Irihi made a point of giving her mother regular tours, since she knew her father was no longer brave enough to even peek inside, so someone had to let him know that she wasn't making bombs… unsupervised, anyway.

Over the years, Irihi had converted her room into something of a live-in shrine. At first glance, it would not be obvious what the room was a shrine to, unless of course you knew the owner's unique heritage. Every wall paid homage to a (for lack of a better word) branch of her family: the Hyuuga, Uzumaki, and Inuzuka Clans each had one, with the last being devoted to all things related (literally) to Suna. Largely as a joke, the Aburame got the ceiling, although Shinju had been very impressed that Irihi was able to arrange and hang "fake bugs as big as your head" so tastefully. Hanako had been mildly offended that there was no place for her family, until Irihi had promised to become "a living embodiment of youthful power," at which point Hanako had thoroughly regretted saying anything at all.

Still, it was a strangely pleasant surprise for Irihi to wake up one morning, to find her mother openly admiring her prized Surf n' Turf Gaara, which was clad only in crimson swim trunks and carrying a surfboard instead of the ever-present gourd.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Irihi asked quietly, causing her mother to jump a little.

"Go on and get dressed, honey," Tenten replied quickly, obviously trying to change the subject. "You've got a mission today. It'll be your first extended trip outside of the village, so make sure you take good care of Hanako and Isai."

"Do we get to fight?" Irihi asked eagerly as she bounced out of bed.

"No, it's more of an escort type thing. You're just leading some people back to Konoha."

"They got lost?"

Tenten shook her head. "I think it's more a case of them not having been here in several years. They've been roaming the Fire Country for a long time, and only recently decided to come back to the village. According to Kaneda, your team was specifically requested for this mission, so make sure you live up to the expectations."

"In other words, no fist fights with Hanako?" Irihi sighed, pouting a bit.

"No ANY kind of fights with anyone."

"Aw, Mamaaa!"

"You shouldn't have time to fight, anyway," Tenten pointed out as she checked each of Irihi's kunai for dents. "You'll need to learn how to handle ninja hounds on the way."

Irihi paused and frowned thoughtfully. "Why would I need to know that?"

"Because the people you're escorting are a nomadic tribe of Inuzuka, and they-"

Anything else Tenten might have said about the mission was drowned out by Irihi's delighted cheers.

* * *

Hanako's first impression of her sensei Kaneda had been that he wouldn't be a very good mentor. He didn't appear to have a bloodline limit, didn't get excited about training, and was well on his way to reaching Akimichi portions of roundness. Even Irihi, who generally gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, had wondered if maybe she should get Hanabi to talk to Ibiki about getting them another teacher.

But Kaneda ended up surprising them all by their third training session. He was, quite simply, an immovable object, and no force, no matter how irresistible, seemed to be able to topple him. He barely felt Hanako's punches, and even with a running start, Irihi had never managed to do more than make his green eyes sparkle with amusement. Isai had guessed that it was some sort of earth-based ability, but they never saw Kaneda perform any hand seals, and he was just as strong in mid-air. But in the spirit of encouraging his students' curiosity, Kaneda had promised whoever figured out his trick first would get a free box of Sunny Buns… so long as the winner was willing to work off the calories doing extra training.

Hanako didn't really feel a need to win the bet, though. Isai was the smartest member of their team, while Irihi had a better head for battle strategy. Anyway, Hinata had never exactly been stingy with her cinnamon buns, and each of them probably ate a box's worth every month as it was.

And, if today's breakfast feast was any indicator, Kaneda ate twice that amount. Hanako couldn't really blame him: when she found out they would meet up for the mission at the Uzumaki compound that morning, she had dragged Isai out of the house before their mothers could make them eat anything. Unfortunately, Hanako hadn't counted on having to share the bounty with four extra mouths, but when found out that Inuzuka Hana's dogs would be carrying them for most of the trip, she didn't mind as much.

* * *

"Okay, lesson one," Hana announced as she paced back and forth before Kaneda's genin team. "Weight distribution. We have four dogs willing to carry us on this mission. Can anyone tell me who rides which dog?"

"Um… I only count three dogs behind you, Inuzuka-san," Hanako replied hesitantly, pointing at the large, gray dogs. "I'd have to see the last one before I could answer the question."

Hana grinned. "A very good point, Hanako. Can anyone tell me where we might find ourselves a fourth dog on such short notice?"

"There's always Akamaru," Irihi answered, "but I'm not sure he'd go. I've never known him to leave Hinata oba-san for very long."

"Also a very good point," Hana agreed. "Fortunately, Hinata is coming with us as well, since she has had some contact with the Inuzuka tribe we're looking for."

Sure enough, Hinata led Akamaru up to the group a moment later. And even though they were about to leave on a mission, he made sure to lick Irihi's cheek and poke his nose into Hana's hair before lining up with the rest of the dogs.

Hana turned back to Hanako. "Care to take another shot at that question?"

The pink-haired girl frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I can't imagine anyone but Hinata-san and Irihi riding Akamaru."

"And I could ride with Kaneda-sensei," Isai said quickly, trying not to be too obvious about sweating.

With a soft chuckle, Hana shook her head. "Sorry, Isai, but that won't happen. The idea is to distribute our total weight as evenly as possible among all the dogs, taking into account how much each is capable of carrying. Akamaru is the biggest, and used to carrying two adults for long distances. That leaves us with three dogs."

"Oh, I know!" Irihi exclaimed. "The other two adults get their own dog, and Hanako shares one with Isai!"

"Correct. And how did you come to that conclusion?"

Irihi blushed slightly. "Hanako and Isai weigh the least individually, and, um, Kaneda-sensei weighs the most…" She shot her teacher an apologetic look, but he waved it off with a smile and made a show of polishing off another Sunny Bun.

"Now that that's out of the way," Hana went on, "it's time to teach you how to actually get on the dogs."

"But we've never ridden one before!" Isai protested as Hanako dragged him towards the dog that Hana picked out for them.

"I barely know anything about dogs, but letting them know you're afraid probably isn't helping their confidence!" Hanako snapped. "Now stop that trembling!" She would've said more, but their assigned dog suddenly stepped forward and began sniffing her pink hair.

"Don't worry, he's just learning your scent," Hana explained. "If you should happen to get separated from the group, he'll be able to track you down."

"See, no chance of us getting lost," Hanako said to Isai as she reached up and petted the dog's neck gratefully.

"What if he gets a cold?" Isai demanded.

"I am one minute away from gagging you and tying us together!"

"Actually, I wouldn't be opposed to that. Your body is much more durable than mine, and in case of an accident, statistics show that shared impact would mean-"

"Tell me you did NOT just call my body 'durable,' Isai!"

"I'm just looking at the facts!" He grabbed her arm and held it out. "Look, you've got so much more muscle here, and-"

"Unless you want this muscle wrapped around your neck, you-"

Kaneda coughed loudly. "Isai, I'm sure there will be plenty of time to admire your girlfriend's stunning, numerous attributes once you're on the road together."

Isai opened his mouth to protest, but kept quiet when he noticed the sharp look Kaneda was giving him. Hanako, on the other hand, had turned bright red and was now staring at the dog to avoid looking at anyone else.

Hinata smiled as she helped Irihi onto Akamaru's back. "He's very good."

Irihi grinned. "You should see how he gets them to hold hands in public."

* * *

Despite all the power he had gained, Morino Ibiki had never really enjoyed delegating. There was just something so satisfying about doing a job himself, and therefore knowing personally that it had been done well. Today, however, he was merely trying to satisfy his gnawing curiosity.

"Damn cryptic old men and their secrets," he muttered, putting aside another dusty, frustrating scroll. For nearly seven hours straight, he'd been going through the personal notes of the previous Hokages. Not surprisingly, Tsunade had made the fewest notes, and that was both a blessing and a curse: she rarely bothered to be too covert with sensitive information, but Shizune (who had written the lion's share, he noted with a smirk) had known a few things about keeping secrets secret, and her writings tended to be both short and descriptive, yet lacking just enough detail to be infuriating. More than likely she had hidden the full versions elsewhere, but Ibiki wasn't about to dig through all the scrolls a second time if he turned out to be wrong. If his search didn't result in the answers he was seeking, only then he would go and find Tsunade's assistant.

But the real problem was that a great deal of knowledge must have been passed orally between the Hokages, and since Tsunade had come into the picture after the death of the Sandaime, there had been no one to bring her into the loop, so to speak. There was no telling how much information had been lost, because as many notes as the Sandaime kept, Ibiki didn't doubt that tons more had been locked away in the old man's head. That was why he'd never had a problem taking an order from the old man: you didn't get to be that old without being brilliant, not while living a shinobi's life.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and Ibiki grimaced. If it was Anko again, trying to drag him out for drinks, dango, or something equally ridiculous, he was going to take Kakashi's advice for once and drop a rubber snake down her front. There was a chance she might like it, and if she didn't, she would hound him for a week at least, but so long as she left him alone for the rest of the day, it might be worth the trouble.

"In all the time I've known you, I never realized you were so dedicated to torturing yourself as well, Ibiki-sensei," Hyuuga Hanabi said as she walked into the dim storeroom. "If you haven't strained your eyes by now, your joints at least must be protesting."

There was no point in trying to lie, not to a Hyuuga, and not to Hanabi in particular. She was the only subordinate he'd trained that he felt even remotely comfortable dropping his guard around. He still saw her as his right hand in several matters, especially when it came to dealing with the rest of her clan. Although he would never tell her so, there were times when he even thought of Hanabi as something of a daughter.

"You should know by now that I never have time enough to be tired, Hyuuga. Did you want something, or did you come solely to be a nuisance? I can assure you that my two cohorts have that area covered."

Hanabi wasn't offended, of course. She knew him well enough to know that he was always so direct, unless he was torturing someone by being particularly longwinded. "I have always wondered if Hinata had received some outside help with her dog, and only partially believed her numerous stories about spiritual guidance. So while I was not surprised to learn about the existence of another Inuzuka clan, I must admit to being curious as to why they distanced themselves from the village, but are still largely considered Leaf-nin in good standing."

Ibiki tossed her a scroll. "That contains an account of a certain Inuzuka who mysteriously left the village, along with several relatives, although none were listed as missing-nin. The only thing I can figure is that they had permission from the Hokage, but because it isn't dated, there's no real way of knowing which Hokage was ruling at the time. Despite the fact that there's no official record of it, most of the council instantly knew what I was referring to when I read the mission request, and confirmed that they were indeed still Leaf-nin, even though most of the current clan has probably never even been in the village. Even stranger, the notice specifically asked for the presence of Inuzuka Hana, Uzumaki Hinata, and Naruto. He's already away on a mission, but I got the distinct impression that they really wanted him."

"Very few people specifically request Naruto-san," Hanabi murmured thoughtfully. "Either they know him personally, or they've heard of him somehow."

"But these people are Inuzuka, and it stands to reason that they know everything the Inuzuka in the village know. I have yet to see one that wasn't an above average tracker, and they'd probably have to go to more trouble NOT to cross paths regularly."

"It is unbelievably difficult to leave that clan, from what I've heard," Hanabi agreed. "They're extremely loyal if nothing else. Hana even checks up on me from time to time. She's nearly as bad as Naruto-san when it comes to absorbing people into the family."

He stared at her blankly. "Hana considers herself related to you? How does that work?"

Hanabi sighed, obviously having had to explain that more than once. "Hinata 'technically' became an Inuzuka when Akamaru accepted her as his mistress. And since he remains with her to this day, she is 'technically,' according to Hana, Uzumaki Inuzuka Hinata. I have been unable to determine if she was attempting to be humorous or not."

"And Naruto has no problem with this?"

"Shortly after being told, Naruto-san was found happily treating his 'Hana nee-chan' and her dogs to pork ramen at Ichiraku's."

Ibiki sighed loudly. "Should've known better."

"I would still be very interested to know what these other Inuzuka want with Naruto-san," Hanabi remarked. "Somehow, I doubt they simply want to meet Hinata's husband."

"Well, there's only one thing Naruto has that nobody else in Konoha does," Ibiki said slowly, "but in most cases, that's been more of a reason not to meet him."

"You think this whole mission has something to do with Kyuubi?" Hanabi asked softly.

"That's just it," Ibiki replied with a frown. "The impression I'm starting to get is that it has nothing to do with Kyuubi, and everything to do with another of his kind. The only reason I agreed to send your young heiress along is because Hinata specifically asked me to."

* * *

Normally, Irihi was one of the more alert members of her team, second only to Kaneda, who of course had decades of experience behind him. But she had discovered rather quickly that she would be unable to depend on the sharpness of her senses, for one rather unexpected reason.

Irihi simply could not stay awake with the faint but comforting sound of Hinata's heartbeat just behind her as they traveled. Either she would nod off and gradually fall forward onto Akamaru's neck, or suddenly wake up to find herself happily snuggled in Hinata's arms. It would have been even more embarrassing, if Irihi hadn't seen the death grip that Isai had on Hanako's waist (not that the pink-haired girl minded at all).

"Can't you poke me when I fall asleep, oba-san?" Irihi murmured at one point, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"That would be rude," Hinata replied with a faint smile.

"But I have to stay awake for the mission!"

"I know. It's just far more comfortable for both of us when I hold you instead."

"We're on a mission!" Irihi protested. "You can't baby me in front of everyone! That's favoritism!"

"Hardly," Hinata responded at once. "Your teammates know very well that they only need to ask if they want hugs, too."

"Does that offer include me, or should I try my luck with Hana?" Kaneda asked as he rode up beside them.

Hinata laughed softly as Hana glanced back at them with a smirk. "I think you just did, Kaneda-san."

"Oh, dear," Kaneda sighed, shaking his head in mock frustration. "I'm afraid I've let the lovely Inuzuka overhear my remarks," he added in a loud whisper that Hana was obviously meant to hear. "How embarrassing!"

Without a word, Hana brought the dog she was riding to a stop and dismounted, her eyes carefully scanning the trees. Finally, she turned back to the group. "If you really want to impress me, Kaneda-san, there's a river not too far west of this spot. If you'll make sure each of the dogs gets plenty to drink, I'm going to do some scouting. I'm starting to pick up signs that my cousins have come through here recently."

"Do you want to borrow my eyes, Hana?" Hinata offered.

"Thanks, but no," Hana declined, smiling. "I've still got my nose. Anyway, you might need your eyes. The trees around here are unusually strong. It doesn't seem like a trap, but I don't think they grew by normal means."

Hinata focused on a nearby tree, and her eyes widened in surprise. "I agree. Are you sure you want to go alone?"

"I am, but you obviously aren't," Hana sighed. "Come on, then. We should only be gone for a few minutes, anyway."

"What's wrong with the trees?" Isai asked worriedly. "Tell us before you go, Hinata-san!"

"I'm sure Irihi can tell you, Isai-kun!" Hinata called over her shoulder as she followed Hana deeper into the forest.

Irihi briefly studied the same tree Hinata had. "There's nothing wrong with the tree, Isai-kun. It's perfectly healthy. Too healthy, in fact."

"Translation?" Hanako sighed before Isai could ask.

"This tree has more chakra than I do," Irihi answered with a thoughtful frown. "Beyond that, I can easily sense it."

"And that's not normal, right?" Isai guessed.

"No, not for regular trees. However, if somebody grew them with a jutsu, it's possible they would retain some of that person's chakra. But when you consider that somebody could grow so many trees with this much chakra leftover in them, well, it could be one of two things. Either they're a really powerful shinobi, or they're not human at all."

"And why are we so sure this isn't a trap?" Isai whispered nervously.

Irihi shrugged. "I don't think it is, anyway. The tree feels happy."

That earned her a few concerned looks.

"Look, we've already established that this isn't a normal tree. Are you really so surprised that I can get a happy vibe from it?"

Isai swallowed noisily. "I think I want to go home, where the trees just stand there, and nobody knows if they're feeling anything at all."

Hanako rolled her eyes. "Isai, it is a TREE. So long as you keep the dog from going on it, and don't cut it down or set it on fire, I don't think you need to be afraid of it. Hopefully it's happy enough where it won't try to fall on you for fun…"

With a tiny, frightened whimper, Isai buried his face in Hanako's back.

"You big baby! It was a joke!" Hanako cried in disgust (though again, she didn't really seem TOO upset).

"I'm surprised at you, Isai," Kaneda said as he dismounted so he could lead both his and Hana's dogs. "Do you really think Hinata-san would have left us if we were likely to find ourselves in danger?"

"Well, no," Isai admitted slowly, "but it's not like she checked the whole area with the Byakugan before she left, either! She only looked at the tree!"

"And you're STILL worried about that, so obviously it would've been pointless for her to use it on anything else," Hanako pointed out. "Let's just go to the river before you find something wrong with the air, too."

"Now that you mention it-"

"Don't make me kick you off this dog, Isai!"

* * *

Hanabi was not accustomed to being kept waiting when she visited the Uzumaki compound. Usually, at least two people were already out in the yard when she arrived, and even when that wasn't the case, Naruto was always excited to get visitors, and Hinata was always happy whenever Hanabi decided to come by. Even though she knew they were both out on missions, she also knew the house wasn't empty, and was starting to get concerned when she had to knock a third time.

Finally, the door opened, and Enten peered up at her, clearly surprised. "Oba-sama, I'm sorry. We weren't expecting you. At least, Temari oba-san didn't say anything. Please, come in."

"And where is Temari?" Hanabi asked, stepping into the house, and clearly wondering why her nephew had answered the door, instead of the adult who was supposed to be watching him and his sister.

"Playing with Tsuki," Enten answered as he closed the door. "They'll probably be another hour or so. They'd only made it up to Hot Springs Gaara last time I checked on them."

Hanabi knew she probably shouldn't ask. For grown women, Hinata and Temari took their doll-collecting very seriously. Still, she had a certain morbid curiosity about the whole thing. "Oh?"

"They play with them in alphabetical order," Enten explained with a sigh. "And then only for a minute each. Otherwise they'll get too worn from hugging or something. I don't really understand it myself…"

"You don't collect them, then?" Hanabi asked, hoping her suspicions were correct.

"No, I don't see the point. I mean, Gaara oji-sama is cool, but I don't hug him, so I wouldn't hug a doll of him, either. In fact, the only person I've ever seen get away with hugging him is Irihi, and I think he only let her because it would have been even less dignified to try and shake her off."

"So if you showed me your room right now," Hanabi went on, "I wouldn't see any dolls at all?"

There was a slight pause.

"I have a tiny Gamabunta, but it's a pillow," Enten replied quickly. "That's it, I swear!"

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about the Gamabunta pillow that's bigger than you are, would you?"

Enten stared up at her. "It's tiny when you compare it to the real thing," he said at last, a little defensively.

"I never said there was anything wrong with it," Hanabi reminded him calmly.

"It's not my fault they don't make manly plushies! And I'm only seven!"

"What if I could find you something better than a doll?"

He paused, looking both curious and hopeful. "I'd like that, oba-sama."

Hanabi nodded. "Leave Temari a note, though we might return before she ventures downstairs again."

Enten quickly ran off, and came back a couple of seconds later with a piece of paper that simply read: "Went to have some REAL fun with oba-sama, see you when we get back!" He left the note on the kitchen table and eagerly followed Hanabi out of the house.

* * *

Isai had largely gotten over his fear of, well, everything in the forest, now that the group had stopped for a quick break. Even better, he'd spotted some very interesting clouds, and was in the process of sketching a few of them, so he could show them to his godfather when he got home. Unfortunately, the only really good vantage point had been in the river they'd stopped beside, so Isai had carefully walked out onto the water, being sure to stay within Hanako's line of sight. Even now, he could see her sitting on the riverbank, occasionally reaching over to stroke their dog's head.

Irihi had climbed up one of the chakra-rich trees, and was now jumping from branch to branch like a pale, hyperactive monkey. Kaneda was keeping one eye on her and the other on the dogs, so Isai wasn't too worried.

Isai had just finished the sketch when he sensed an unfamiliar flare of chakra, and looked up just in time to see something black vanish into some bushes along the opposite riverbank. The momentary distraction was enough, however, because he instantly forgot to maintain the necessary chakra to keep him above the water, and went under like a rock. He surfaced a moment later, a little surprised and touched to see that Irihi was at the end of a branch hanging out over the river, ready to dive in after him, and Hanako already had one foot in the water. "I'm okay!" he shouted, waving them off. His gaze soon turned back to the bushes, and with a determined scowl, he swam over to spot and climbed out. Oddly enough, there were no tracks of any kind, but Isai was certain that he had seen something.

"Maybe you should come back now, Isai!" Hanako shouted after a few minutes.

Having found nothing, Isai sighed, carefully built up chakra in his feet, and started walking across the water again. He was halfway there when Hanako began waving wildly and pointing at something behind him. Isai didn't want to turn around, but slowly did so. He could see nothing out of place, and started to think Hanako had played a joke on him. But when he turned again to tell her it wasn't funny, Hanako was gone. Indeed, the entire riverbank she and the group had been on were gone, because Isai suddenly found himself seven feet in the air above rushing water, and falling fast.

Despite all the instruction he'd received in the Academy and from Sakura, and all the training from his mother, his grandfather, Kaneda, Hanako, and Irihi, there was only one thought going through Isai's mind.

"If this is what it feels like to be a cloud, I'm never going cloud gazing again…"

* * *

Very few people ever gave Hanako credit for her brainpower, and she didn't much care. However, she wasn't stupid, and she could put things together very fast when necessary.

For example, she knew that some ninken could use jutsu, either with their masters, or alone. So while she had been a little shocked to see the strange black dog use the Replacement jutsu on Isai, she had accepted it quickly.

On the other hand, seeing dog use the Replacement jutsu in combination with clones of itself to rapidly teleport Isai away from them had stunned even Kaneda for a good six seconds.

But then Hanako remembered Irihi mentioning seeing a waterfall earlier, and her eyes widened. Isai was an okay swimmer, but he couldn't escape a waterfall on his best day, and certainly not if he was panicking as he had to be. So taking a page out of the dog's book, Hanako began teleporting herself downstream with the Replacement jutsu, and instantly realized that the dog had to be an old pro at it. She was in a hurry, which resulted in her switching with the first objects she spotted, and sometimes ended up nearly up to her neck in water, or just a few feet above it. But it paid off, because she soon spotted Isai's struggling form in the distance, only seconds away from vanishing over the waterfall.

A quick glance over her shoulder showed that Irihi was closing in by leaping through trees overhead, and Kaneda seemed to be surfing downstream on a platform made of rock.

To her surprise, it was Kaneda who figured out what Hanako was thinking even before she flew through the hand seals one last time. "Don't you do it, Hanako!" he shouted, reaching for her.

Hanako only smiled sadly. "I have to, Kaneda-sensei. Isai needs me, and I can't let him down."

In the next moment, Kaneda found his hand closing around Isai's arm instead of Hanako's. He quickly hauled the coughing blond boy onto the platform, his features clouding in anger. "Irihi!" he barked, looking up at his best student. "Don't you let her fall! She has to live so I can kill her when you bring her back!"

Irihi's response was exactly what he'd expected. She kicked off the weights on her legs, and her body became a blur as she dove off of the waterfall after her teammate.

* * *

"I'm so stupid," Hanako whispered as she plummeted to what had to be her doom. "Isai will be a wreck without me. He'll probably die, anyway, without me to take care of him. All I did was make sure I'd go first…"

She hadn't realized how draining the Replacement jutsu could be if used rapidly in succession, and with almost no idea of what you'd be switching places with. Plus, it was even harder to switch places with a struggling person, which Isai would no doubt lecture her on if she survived. There was a chance she wouldn't die instantly when she hit the bottom, thanks to her body's natural toughness, but she could always drown from not having enough energy to swim.

All thoughts of her death came to an end when something cold and hard wrapped tightly around her waist, halting her fall at once.

"Don't struggle and I won't drop you," said an unfamiliar voice above her.

Hanako instantly went limp, since she really didn't have the strength to protest. From the sound of it, she was being saved, and she wasn't about to do anything to change her rescuer's mind.

Slowly, she felt herself being pulled up, until finally she felt a hand grabbing her shoulder… a hand that almost felt like it had claws, actually. Taking a deep breath, Hanako raised her head, only to stare into a pair of the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. They were as pink as her hair, and seemed to widen slightly as she gazed into them.

"Are you okay?" the white-haired boy asked uncertainly, and Hanako felt herself nodding slowly. "Um, great. But you don't really seem okay, if you don't mind me saying so…"

"Pretty," Hanako said without much thought, and soon became aware of more pink, this time in her savior's cheeks (which bore red marks similar to Hana's, now that she thought about it) as he put her down next to him on the ledge. She also noticed two of his teeth, since they were very sharp, curved, and long enough that they protruded just over his lower lip.

"Ah, well, thanks. I think. I've never been called pretty before, I'd remember that…"

Hanako blushed, and was about to say something more intelligent, but was then rudely interrupted.

"HANAKO-CHAN!" Irihi cried as she landed just behind them on the ledge. In an instant, she had pulled Hanako into a crushing hug. "You're okay!"

"I won't be if you break me in half, Irihi-chan!" Hanako grunted.

"What were you thinking?" Irihi demanded angrily the moment she let go. "Kaneda-sensei is furious, and poor Isai-kun is probably in hysterics by now! And what about me? How was I supposed to tell your parents that I lost you? After everything your father put me through to make me stronger, I couldn't face him if something happened to you! Do you have any idea how many times he made me swear to use what he taught me to protect you?"

Hanako was honestly a little surprised at that revelation, and felt a pang of guilt at the thought of never being wrapped in one of her father's enthusiastic hugs again. "Well, it's not like you have to worry about any of that, now," she pointed out reasonably.

"Um, excuse me," her savior chimed in hesitantly, "but I'm not really done saving you. This ledge won't hold our combined weight for much longer…"

"I don't suppose you can fly?" Irihi asked hopefully.

"No, but I've never really needed to. Let this wrap around your waist, please," he said, as a length of chain slipped out of his gray jacket and moved towards Irihi. She hesitated, until she noticed that Hanako already had a chain around her own waist, and it had apparently aided in saving her life. Anyway, bad guys didn't usually ask nicely, or display any manners at all. "You must hold on tightly for this to work. Also, I'll need a little chakra from each of you. Think of it as a fare, if you like. You'll hardly even miss it."

Hanako quickly latched onto the boy's arm, causing him to blush.

"Um, I really meant hold onto the chain, but that's just as good, I suppose…"

"I'm with Hanako on this one," Irihi said, grabbing the boy's other arm. "It's not like you'd leave an arm behind, right?"

"That's true…" he admitted with a weak smile. "But I never take these chains off, either. I need them…"

"For what?" Irihi asked curiously.

He only shrugged before closing his eyes. "Here we go…"

The entire ledge trembled a bit, and the girls automatically moved closer to the boy, neither realizing it was the effect of his jutsu. Many roots suddenly poked out of the ground, growing taller until they interlocked overhead, forming a cage around the three. Without warning, the cage pulled them into solid rock at an alarming pace, the dirt and rock sliding off of the cage like water.

"It almost seems like an absolute defense," Irihi murmured, slowly reaching out and touching one of the roots. She could feel it pulsing at a constant rate, and just like the trees she'd seen earlier, she could tell that it had a surprising amount of chakra flowing through it.

"I wouldn't know," the boy said suddenly, startling her. "I've never been attacked while I do this. Either no one ever tried, or I just didn't feel it…"

"What's your name?" Irihi asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

He seemed amused by her suspicion. "Inuzuka Michio. It was interesting to meet you, Hyuuga-san. I haven't met many people willing to throw themselves off of a waterfall. Just you two, in fact…"

"It wasn't really our idea," Hanako responded with a weak grin. "That black dog came out of nowhere, and then-"

"I see," Michio said quietly, his voice trembling with suppressed anger.

Irihi and Hanako traded confused looks, just before the cage came to a stop, now above ground again. The roots untied themselves and shrank back into the ground, leaving no sign that they'd ever been there at all.

"I brought us up near the bottom of the waterfall," Michio explained as his chains detached themselves from the girls and flew back into his jacket. "Didn't want you two trying any more death-defying leaps…"

"We'd better go find the others, Hanako-chan," Irihi suggested at once, letting go of his arm. "They must really be worried by now."

"No need. They're already headed this way," Michio said, tilting his head slightly. "Hmm… three adults, one person your age… and four dogs. Does that sound right?"

Hanako stared at him in shock. "How did you DO that?"

"They smell pretty anxious. I'm guessing they're worried about you, since they're not taking time to conceal themselves. Apparently, they're not too crazy about the waterfall-diving, either…" He started to say more, then paused and blushed when he realized that Hanako was still holding onto his arm tightly.

In the next moment, Kaneda landed in front of them with Isai under one arm, followed closely by Hinata, Hana, and the four dogs. Kaneda looked like he had plenty to say, but Isai pulled away from him and ran straight to Hanako, who finally remembered herself and released Michio's arm just as Isai threw his arms around her waist.

"I thought you were gone!" he sobbed, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Isai… I'm fine," Hanako said softly, smiling as she returned the hug and patted his back soothingly.

Irihi ran over to Hinata, who immediately began checking her for injuries. "You missed me taking on that waterfall, oba-san! It was so COOL! Not the part about Isai and Hanako almost dying, but the rest of it was really-"

"Um, I'm really sorry about all of this," Michio muttered nervously.

Hanako threw him a hurt look. "You're sorry you saved me?"

"No, of course not!" he said quickly. "I just meant you wouldn't have been in danger, if it weren't for me…"

"We already told you it was that black dog who-"

"Yes, well, about that, Hanako-san," Michio said as the aforementioned dog suddenly appeared next to him, growling angrily.

Isai quickly backed away, pulling Hanako with him.

Irihi tensed up as well, since the dog looked and acted more like a wolf, in her opinion.

Michio quickly attached one of his chains to the dog's collar. "That's more than enough, Kagemaru. These people are not enemies. It's time to leave them alone."

"They are not welcome here!" Kagemaru snapped, but Isai and Hanako were the only ones surprised to hear him speak. "The last thing we need is another band of humans trespassing in HIS forest! Only one of them is marked as his servant! The rest should be eliminated at once!"

"They're only here because he wanted escorts from the village!"

"I would remember if he had asked for a weak boy and an equally foolish girl, and there is no way he expected them to bring some of those white-eyed, sneaky-"

Thankfully, whatever Kagemaru had intended on calling the Hyuuga in general, and Hinata and Irihi in particular, the group never found out. Because Michio, who had up until that point, seemed largely shy and harmless, moved with a speed that was well beyond inhuman, and snapped Kagemaru's muzzle shut with both of his pale hands.

"You," the boy said quietly but firmly, "will NEVER again disrespect Hinata-sama, her family, or anyone else she deems worthy of respect. Any… memory lapses on your part will result in your immediate and permanent dismissal as my vassal. As talented as you are, Kagemaru, you need to understand that common courtesy, however silly it may seem to you, could easily save your life a few times."

Kagemaru said nothing to this, or anything at all for the rest of the conversation, but it was clear that he understood.

Hinata was now staring at the boy with growing curiosity, since she had never met him, and could not think of a single thing she might have done to deserve such a spirited defense. Honestly, it had been a long time since anyone had called her "Hinata-sama," and even longer since they'd done so with any real respect in mind, so it felt a bit odd, like she was trying on an old dress that didn't quite fit, if it ever had. The most formal name she had these days was "Uzumaki-san," and only the few people who insisted on distancing themselves from her used that often. Even the Leaf-nin who regularly drew guard duty at the gate nearest to her home had fallen into the habit of announcing, "Hina-hime's here!" whenever she brought them freshly baked Sunny Buns (Hanabi had thought they were insulting Hinata's former status as a clan heir, but Naruto insisted that Hinata's cooking was simply that good and then some, but he was biased).

"Please allow me to apologize for Kagemaru's rudeness," Michio sighed, bowing politely to the group. "We do not get many welcome visitors, and he has become somewhat indiscriminate in how he handles anyone that steps into our territory. I do hope this unfortunate incident will not negatively impact your first impressions of us forest-dwelling Inuzuka."

"You're an Inuzuka?" Isai asked in disbelief without thinking, which Hanako promptly elbowed him for.

"I know I don't really look or act like one," Michio explained, scratching his cheek with his claws. "I was a very sickly child, and consequently, I won't ever be strong in the way that the rest of my clan is. But I've managed to survive so far, so hopefully that counts for something."

That comment made Irihi frown. Maybe Michio wasn't bulging with muscles (in fact, she thought he might be skin and bones under that bulky jacket), but from what she'd seen so far, he was by no means a weakling. He clearly had some talent in Mokuton jutsu, which was a rare ability in itself, and chances were whoever had trained him in it was also responsible for those chakra-rich trees.

Hana, who had been staring at Michio for several moments, finally stepped forward. "You look familiar. You're Miwa's little brother, aren't you?"

"Ah… yes, Miwa is my older sister, oba-san. She told me how you taught her to wrestle. Actually, she showed me…" Michio winced slightly at the memory. "We have a younger sister now. She's really looking forward to meeting you. Once they catch up, we can go."

Hinata was surprised at that. "Are you sure? I thought your whole family was returning to Konoha."

Michio shook his head. "No, it was always just us, Hinata-sama. Our uncle wanted to come, but he became our clan head when my father died, so he has to stay with the others. It's not a problem, my sisters and I have been on our own plenty of times before."

Irihi waited until Hinata turned to Hana and Kaneda to discuss this new information before pulling Michio aside. "I'm glad you respect my aunt, but you should know you're only embarrassing her by calling her that, and she's too nice to tell you." She paused, and then asked, "Why DO you keep calling her that?"

"You don't know?" Michio asked in surprise. "No one outside of our clan has ever been able to successfully tame and keep an Inuzuka dog as their companion. Hinata-sama is the only one, so everyone in our clan knows her name. I never thought I would have the honor of meeting her…"

"What about Akamaru?" Irihi demanded. "Isn't he famous, too?"

"Um, well, yes," he replied hesitantly. "I thought that was implied, sorry… I meant no disrespect, of course. He is, after all, the very image of greatness."

Irihi instantly calmed down, smiling fondly at Akamaru as Hinata stroked his neck. "Yeah, he is great, isn't he?"

"That's not exactly what I meant…" Michio murmured. "You see, there is a legend of a white dog spirit that dwells in and protects the forests of Fire Country. Some of my clan believes that we were sent here to aid the spirit in its duties. So whenever we see a large white dog, our faith is renewed, and we are reminded that the spirit still walks among us, protecting not only the forests, but our very lives."

"So… you're saying it's very good that Akamaru's fur is white?"

"Ah… I guess that's one way of putting it."

"Okay." Irihi stared at him for a few seconds. "You're kind of weird, but I like you. And I'll keep liking you, if you promise never to call me 'Hyuuga-san' again. That could be anyone back home, and then only if you didn't really care enough to learn their name. Wouldn't you feel weird if I kept calling you 'Inuzuka-san' even after you told me your name?"

"I see your point, and I apologize, Irihi-san," Michio replied, bowing slightly.

"Aw, don't worry about it, Mi-chan!" Irihi said brightly, patting him on the back before she walked off.

"Mi-chan?" he muttered, frowning a little. The thought slipped from his mind as a cold nose pressed against his cheek. He looked up, only to find Akamaru sniffing at him. Soon enough, the other three Inuzuka dogs had gathered around him as well, and Michio could only smile, offering his hands for their inspection. "So you've all figured me out, I see," he murmured softly, reaching up to pat Akamaru's muzzle. "But I'd appreciate it if this could stay between us. People can prove… unpredictable with such sensitive information. I hope you can understand my reasoning."

The other three dogs seemed to nod, but Akamaru simply stared at Michio for several seconds.

The boy smiled. "Don't worry, my friend. I think Hinata-sama will reach her own conclusions in time, if she hasn't already. I didn't think I'd be able to hide from her for very long, anyway."

Akamaru liked that answer better, because he briefly licked Michio's hand before moving away. The other dogs followed his lead, and Michio was not at all surprised to find the group staring at him curiously.

"I have a way with dogs," Michio said simply, offering a slight smile. "They just seem to like me, for some reason. Well, except for my friend here," he added, gesturing to Kagemaru. "But he doesn't really like anyone…"

* * *

Enten was having a rather good day, all things considered. Tsuki wouldn't like it when she found out how much fun he'd been having without her, but that was largely her fault for obsessing over dolls. Honestly, they were SEVEN already, and the only possible excuse she should've had for playing with them still was developing an interest in shinobi puppetry, which would thrill Uncle Kankurou to no end, since he was convinced that it was a rapidly fading art.

First, Hanabi had stopped by the Aburame compound, since she needed to discuss something with Shino. That was fine with Enten, so he'd wandered off to find Shinju, who was working on a new jutsu that was as advanced for her age as it was creepy. Most people were turned off by the fact that they had never seen her whole face, but Enten didn't mind it. Shinju always listened when he had a problem, and if she sensed that he was really troubled, she would have her bugs "sing" to cheer him up. She really was overly affectionate by Aburame standards, which she proved by patting him on the head as he left. It was practically nothing to Enten, but Shino seemed just shy of scandalized, even more so when Shinju returned Enten's parting wave.

Next, they had lunch at Sakura's house, which Enten dreaded. He liked Sakura and Ino enough, but they were always hugging him and kissing him and telling him how cute he was. This had been fine a few years ago, but Enten was getting to the point where he preferred to do manly things, and it was exceedingly difficult to be manly when there was lipstick all over your cheeks. Even worse, Tenten and Shizune were there as well, which just meant more kisses. By the time he finally escaped, he was in no mood to go anywhere else until he made Hanabi promise that his present was at their next stop.

The next stop turned out to be the Hyuuga compound. Enten had only been there a few times, since everyone he knew there usually chose to visit him. There were far more people he didn't know, and though he knew they were technically family, he felt uneasy when most of them looked his way. Their eyes were nothing new, but they lacked his mother's open affection, Irihi's cheerful nature, and Hanabi's reassuring presence. Enten would have felt more confident if he'd been born with the Byakugan, but since that wasn't the case, he just walked a little closer to Hanabi the whole time. Once he got his hands on the promised present, however, he felt much better, and forgot all about being nervous. It was much better than any plushie he'd ever seen, and he definitely wouldn't have to share it with his sister, which was always a plus.

At least, he hoped that was the case. If Tsuki was still playing with dolls, she probably wouldn't be interested in even being a partial owner of an authentic hunter-nin mask.

* * *

Roughly an hour after Hanako's infamous waterfall dive, Michio's two sisters came crashing through the woods, and Irihi could see at once why Michio would hate wrestling with either of them. Unlike Michio, who dressed a great deal like her late uncle Kiba once had, the girls looked like they'd grown brown fur all over their bodies, and then shaved small areas of it off. As they got closer, however, it was revealed that they were simply wearing clothing made out of fur, which exposed their muscular thighs and upper arms. Still, Irihi wasn't convinced that they hadn't grown the fur themselves, since their hair was also brown, long, and particularly coarse-looking.

The larger sister, who was a head taller than Michio, ran up and cuffed him across the back of his head, knocking him to his knees through the sheer force of the hit. "Michio!" she growled angrily. "Why didn't you tell us that Hana oba-chan was here already?"

"You told me not to bother you, nee-san…" he complained weakly, covering the fresh bump with his hands.

The younger sister, about half Michio's size, calmly walked over and pulled his hands away, inspecting the bump carefully. Then, in a very odd display of affection, she leaned forward and gave the bump a long lick. "There," she said in satisfied tone, patting him on the shoulder. "All better."

Michio blushed, torn between feeling embarrassed and appreciative. "Um… thanks, Miki-chan…" he murmured, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"Don't be too tough on him, Miwa-chan," Hana chuckled, ruffling the older girl's hair. "He had a lot of explaining to do, and he gave the others a very good first impression of your branch of the clan. He was very polite."

"Aw, we're nothing like that!" Miwa complained loudly, shooting her brother a glare.

"Speak for yourself, nee-san," Miki chimed in with a frown as she carefully adjusted the travel pack hanging off of her shoulder. The pack shifted slightly, and a tiny brown puppy's head peeked out, letting out a bark that sounded more like a squeak.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Hanako sighed excitedly. "Can I pet him? Please?"

Miki shrugged and started to take the puppy out of her pack, but Miwa stopped her.

"Don't be stupid, Miki! She doesn't know how to handle a dog properly!"

"That's not true!" Hanako protested, glaring at the taller girl. "You don't even know me!"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Miwa snorted.

"Nee-san, don't," Michio pleaded, but Miwa silenced him with a glare.

"Just because I'm not an Inuzuka and don't live in a forest," Hanako snapped, "it doesn't mean I don't know anything about dogs! And just because you are and do, it's still no excuse for not having any manners!"

"Here's what I think of you and your manners!" Miwa snarled, drawing back a fist. Before she could bring it forward, though, a hand closed around it.

"You really don't want to do that," Irihi said quietly, squeezing Miwa's hand just hard enough to get her attention. "Hanako's stronger than I am fast, and right now she's in a fairly good mood, so you don't want to get in a fight with her."

For her part, Miwa gave the girl a rather disbelieving stare. She was used to people occasionally getting in her face, although most of them had enough common sense to made sure they stood a chance of winning first. But the girl currently in her way was not only smaller than her, but thinner as well. Any other time, she would have simply snorted and shoved such a person aside. The only reason she didn't now was because the pressure on her hand was starting to hurt. Miwa was stubborn, and hated backing down from anyone, but she was smart enough to realize that if she forced the issue, she could walk away from this with a broken hand at the very least.

"Stop picking on everyone, nee-san," Miki ordered, giving her sister a light kick to the ankle. "She asked nicely and everything." With that, she handed the puppy to Hanako, who made sure to cuddle him extra gently, just so Miwa wouldn't be proven right.

Growling, Miwa yanked her hand away from Irihi and stomped over to Hana, who was quick to point out (very quietly, so as not to be overhead by the others) that Hanako had been trained to care for ninken and normal dogs alike.

"This is going to be a long trip, isn't it," Isai muttered, not really even asking.

"I'm afraid so," Michio sighed, scratching at his cheek nervously. "Nee-san is very good at holding a grudge over the littlest things. She'll probably never forgive me when she finds out I saved Hanako-san…"

"So you're telling me she's always this bad?" Irihi muttered softly in his ear.

Michio offered a weak smile. "Not really. She'd probably be much more violent if the adults weren't around. I'm just glad you weren't bluffing about being faster than her. She won't be so quick to hit anyone with you around. Well, except me…"

"Don't worry! I'll protect you, Mi-chan!" she promised, thumping him on the back.

"That's… very kind of you, Irihi-san," he murmured weakly, forcing a smile. It became more genuine, however, when he noticed that Hanako and Miki were getting along fine.

"What's his name?" Hanako was asking in a hushed tone as the puppy pawed lightly at her arm.

"He doesn't really have one," Miki explained. "We like to let the partner choose their names most of the time, but he was a runt, so he's not really strong enough to support a partner. I just keep him with me most of the time, but I already have a dog. I was hoping I could find him a good home in the village. He's not cut out to be a ninja hound, and he'd be much happier with a nice family."

"I bet Ino-san could get someone to take him in," Hanako mused. "She knows lots of people."

"What about Anko-sama?" Isai suggested after a moment. "She's always looking for ways to pass the time so she doesn't have to do so much work. I bet she'd like a puppy."

"Right up until she had to clean up after him," Hanako added. "It's the same for Kakashi-sama. And I really don't think we want to give him to Ibiki-sama. I don't think anybody that's been in ANBU would like a puppy. Maybe the Akimichi would take him. He'd get plenty big off of just their table scraps."

Isai scratched his head. "What table scraps?"

"Oh, right. Never mind…"

"Shika oji-san?"

Hanako shook her head. "He'd forget to feed a puppy. Or just purposely not do it, whichever was easier." Suddenly, she blinked and waved at Irihi to get her attention. "What about Shinju? You think she'd like a dog, Irihi?"

"Um, nope," Irihi replied instantly. "She's technically got thousands of mouths to feed as it is, and it takes time for a dog to get used to that sort of thing. It might just freak out a puppy. Anyway, she's going to try out for ANBU if she does well at the chuunin exams, so-"

"WHAT!" Hanako shouted. "When did you find that out?"

"Same day she told me?" Irihi asked, shrugging. "A long time ago, actually. She's been planning to do that for years."

"They don't usually take chuunin, do they?" Isai wondered aloud.

"Only in very rare cases. They took oba-sama right after she made chuunin. Plus I think Shinju has a relative still in ANBU, so maybe they put in a good word for her. But I doubt they really had to in Shinju's case. She could make it in on her own."

"She's really that good?" Hanako whispered.

"Yeah. The only reason I can beat her is because she doesn't want to kill me by accident, so she holds back when we fight."

"But… you were best student in our class!" Isai protested. "How can Shinju be better than you?"

Irihi snorted. "Don't be silly, Isai-kun. Nobody cares about grades when they're trying to kill you. Besides, Shinju improves really fast, and even if she didn't, it wouldn't matter. She had her first kill before we even left the Academy. That's when she realized how easy it was for her, so she started limiting herself when she fought. It makes it seem like she's not as strong, but it's only because she isn't going all out. If she did, most of our class wouldn't have survived the practice battles. Even if the teachers knew, they can only grade what you show them."

"So… um… was her first time an accident?" Hanako asked, trying to recall if anyone in their class had just stopped showing up.

"No. A foreign ninja tried to steal some of her bugs. I guess he thought he could breed them. For the Aburame, that's an unforgivable offense, so she didn't even bother trying to capture him alive. I don't even think she told anyone right away."

"How could she not?" Isai demanded. "What if he'd been part of a larger invading force? Why wouldn't she tell someone?"

"Because she remembers what happened to my grandfather," Irihi replied quietly, "and she didn't trust anyone other than her father to help her. It doesn't really matter now, though. There's no proof that it ever happened: no body, no witness, no nothing. So even if the village tried to say she was responsible, they'd first have to admit that they sent a ninja into the village, which they had no valid excuse for. Shino-san said nobody ever said anything, so I guess they realized it, too."

Isai shook his head. "No offense, Irihi-chan, but are we your only normal friends?"

"Who says I have any?" Irihi counted with a smirk. "You guys are freaks, too."

"Hey!"

"Well, you are. You can read minds, and Hanako has muscles on top of more muscles on top of even more muscles. But you're really nice freaks."

"Stop calling us freaks!" Isai shouted.

"Calm down, Isai. You know she doesn't mean anything by it," Hanako pointed out with a sigh. "Here, hold the puppy. Maybe that'll help."

"But I don't-" Isai gasped as she placed the puppy in his arms. "Hanako, take him back!"

"Too late, he likes you," she giggled as the puppy licked Isai's arm.

"You should hang onto him," Irihi advised. "Girls like guys with puppies."

Isai froze and glanced fearfully at Miwa. "That's not really true, is it?" he murmured.

"Only sometimes," Miki assured him. "You're a little skinny for me, though, so you should be safe."

Isai almost thanked her, but then realized someone almost half his size had just rejected him. "Oh," was all he could come up with.

"If you really want girls to notice you, stop hanging out with these two," the smallest Inuzuka suggested, nodding at Irihi and Hanako. "They're cute, they grab all the attention, and someone might think you're with one or both of them."

Isai's face turned bright red. "That's… wait. Are you saying if I did that, then you'd…?"

"Me? Oh, no. Not unless you bulked up a bit first," Miki replied, prodding his arm with a finger. "Maybe if you had a distinguishing scar, I could overlook it. Oh, and you kinda smell like a girl."

The blood drained out of Isai's face. "What?"

"Sorry. That girl, specifically, if it helps," Miki added, pointing at Hanako. "Did she claim you?"

Now Hanako's face was bright red. "We just rode on the same dog, that's all!"

Miki looked doubtful. "But it's kind of ingrained. So unless you do that every single day-"

"They're around each other all the time," Irihi explained. "Plus they live together."

"That's as good as claimed, unless you're related," Miki answered with a smile.

"Not… really," Hanako murmured slowly, trading an uncertain look with Isai. "Right?"

"I… guess not," Isai replied softly, looking even more hesitant.

Miki rolled her eyes and tugged on Irihi's arm. "Level with me; she claimed him, right?"

Irihi's lips curved into a wide grin. "Not officially, but she'd fight you to the death if you tried anything, so I say yes."

"Too bad," Miki sighed, looking disappointed for about two seconds. "You got any brothers?"

* * *

Enten had barely taken two steps inside the house when his sister, who apparently refused to believe that personal space should ever exist between them, tackled him. And even if the boy were aware that he'd braced himself, half-expecting such a greeting, just once it would've been nice to enter his home and not have to be on guard.

"Enten, you're back!" Tsuki cheered, latching onto his neck. "I thought you ran away to Suna!"

"How would I get there?" Enten groaned, rolling his eyes. "And why would I go without Temari oba-san to show me the shortcuts?"

"I don't know, I'm just happy you came back!" She kissed him soundly on the cheek, giggling as he desperately tried to wipe it off.

"Aw, see, that's why I went without you!"

"And that's why I have to do it now, because you went without me!"

Just behind Enten, Hanabi thought about clearing her throat, or perhaps even flaring her chakra to get their attention, but decided against it and just stepped around them. She was half-hoping that the twins would come to blows, and that she'd get to see how far along they were, but Temari soon walked in and ended any hope of that.

"Alright, you brats. Go on and wash up for dinner, and I might just take you out for ramen."

The twins instantly ran out of the room, but Temari didn't miss the oddly-shaped bundle under Enten's arm. She slowly turned to Hanabi, who was staring at her expectantly. "You gave him your hunter-nin mask? I understand that you're retired, but don't you think it's a little early to get his hopes up?"

"I did not give him the mask for that purpose," Hanabi replied. "I altered it, so that anyone I came across would know who I was. Enten wants it for much the same reason. His heart aches, because he sees nothing of Hinata in himself. He is the only person I've ever known who wanted the Byakugan solely for appearances. He wants so badly to be recognized as her son, even if he is the only one who will ever see himself with the mask on. You can't imagine how his face lit up when I gave it to him. I've never seen him so happy before."

"If I didn't know any better," Temari replied with a smirk, "I'd say you were trying to replace me as his favorite aunt."

"I merely gave him a piece of his Hyuuga heritage. If he happened to enjoy it, that is merely an unexpected bonus."

"Yeah, right. So I guess you wouldn't be interested in joining us for dinner?"

Hanabi paused for the slightest moment. "It has been a while since I last had ramen, but I believe I could handle one serving."

* * *

Amazingly enough, there were no more major incidents between the Inuzuka children and Kaneda's team, and they made it back to Konoha faster than expected. This was partially because the Inuzuka chose to run most of the way, and the dogs were hard-pressed to keep them in sight while still carrying passengers.

Hinata had been strangely quiet the whole time, because there was something about the middle Inuzuka child that… spoke to her. Michio reminded her so much of herself at his age, it was nearly painful to watch him try to get along with Miwa, who often snapped at him for no reason at all. At least he had little Miki, who acted more like she was the older sister, and had to break up most of the arguments between her siblings.

But there was something else bothering her as well. At times, Michio's eyes would meet hers, and he would stare at her in undisguised awe. She had no idea why that might be, and while it didn't make her uncomfortable exactly, she was very curious about it. At first, she thought he might have a little crush on her, but he didn't exhibit the usual symptoms. He wouldn't blush and quickly turn away if she caught him staring; he would only smile warmly for a moment, and then go back to whatever he'd been doing before.

The more she wondered about him, the more Hinata told herself she was being silly. Michio was harmless, and perfectly nice besides that. Sure, he had claws that didn't seem capable of retracting, but he never used them for anything more than scratching his cheek absently. He'd obviously made a good impression on Irihi, who spent most of the return trip asking him what it was like being part of a traveling clan. He wasn't a big fan of the way she insisted on affectionately calling him "Mi-chan," but he never asked her to stop.

All things considered, Hinata was not exactly surprised when Michio expressed interest in touring the Uzumaki compound, before he even knew that it was her home. His excuse was that it "looked cozy from the outside," and while she didn't think he was lying, she couldn't help wondering if it was only because it was the first group of buildings that he saw after their trip. On the other hand, there were only so many coincidences in the ninja world, and this many in a row had tripped Hinata's internal alarms. Michio probably wasn't dangerous… but he would make a perfect spy, if he were ever so inclined. He had an innocent, unassuming air about him, so his curiosity would never be mistaken for information gathering.

But with no proof that Michio was up to no good (and more importantly, no warnings of danger from Akamaru), Hinata allowed Michio into her home. Miwa only grunted and looked away when she got the same offer, and Miki claimed to be tired, putting the blame on her shorter legs (though she probably wanted to make sure Miwa didn't start another fight). So while Hana took her dogs and nieces home, Kaneda left to report in at the Hokage Tower, and Irihi dragged Hanako and Isai to their home, planning to tell Sakura and Lee that their daughter had inherited their flare for attempting the impossible (Lee would be tremendously pleased, no doubt).

* * *

Michio was not very good at speaking in code. So when he asked Hinata, very calmly, if she enjoyed midnight gardening, he was fairly certain that she knew he wasn't really serious.

He was therefore slightly disappointed when she showed him her garden an hour before midnight.

But Michio DID like growing things, and the time of day didn't really matter. So he pasted a smile on his face, sat on the ground, and listened attentively as Hinata named all the things she was growing. And when she was done, he nodded, cleared his throat, and asked if she had any foxglove, all with a rather hopeful smile on his face.

Hinata conveniently changed the subject, and asked if he would like a snack.

Michio agreed, but asked that she not tell Miki about it, since she got "crazy like a fox" if she missed out on snacks.

Hinata asked what he thought of the weather.

Michio answered that he expected it to rain "foxes and probably more foxes."

Hinata asked what he thought of Irihi.

Michio replied that when he was much older, he'd probably want a pup just like her. Then he asked if Kyuubi felt the same.

At which point, Hinata gave up and asked, "Who are you?"

"Why don't you take a look and tell me, Hinata-sama? I'm surprised you haven't already. It's hardly being rude if I invite you to do so."

So Hinata looked with her Byakugan, and Michio waited until he heard her gasp, "You have Kyuubi's chakra!"

"Only a little, and not by choice, I assure you. It was rather painful, from what I understand. But I think it would be best if you heard it straight from my friend."

At which point Michio's warm, pink eyes shifted to become glittering amber, and the voice that came out of his mouth was more of a rumbling growl.

"I apologize for not revealing myself sooner, Hinata-sama," the boy said quietly. "But I had to be sure that you were indeed the wife of Kyuubi's vessel. Coming out to anyone else would have been disastrous, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"Tell me how you got a portion of his chakra," Hinata said nervously.

"Simple: he put it there when we fought. As a reminder not to challenge him again, I suspect, or perhaps he was feeling particularly vengeful. At any rate, there's no cause for concern. I can't use it, and even if I tried, it would only hurt like hell. But that was probably the original idea."

"You… fought Naruto?"

"No, I fought the demon now trapped inside of him. You and your husband weren't even born at the time."

Hinata stared at him uncertainly. "You must realize this is making no sense at all."

"Do you know of any normal humans that have survived Kyuubi's chakra?"

She froze. "You're… one of his kind? But the only demonic chakra I sense in you is his!"

The boy closed his eyes, sighing softly. "I am something different now, Hinata-sama. But in those days, I wasn't that much different from him. I was Gobi no Houkou. Now… I am little more than a simple nature spirit, doing its best to coexist peacefully with this world. I have come here seeking answers. I wish to know how Kyuubi comes to find himself… settling down. Married to a kind-hearted woman, raising innocent pups, and so close to a human village, no less. This is not at all what I expected of him, even sealed as he is."

Hinata knew it was probably in her best interest to answer his questions, but she had plenty of her own, and they refused to wait. "But… Michio is so young. He couldn't have been your vessel for very long…"

"Ah. That is easily explained." The boy unzipped his jacket, shifted his chains a bit, and pulled up his shirt, revealing his pale belly.

There was no seal.

Hinata's eyes widened. "Then how are you…?"

"I should have started at the beginning. Forgive my impatience, Hinata-sama." He cleared his throat and leaned back slightly, propping himself against the ground with his arms behind him. "It pains me to admit it, but Kyuubi's attitude was once typical of most of the tailed beasts. We cared little for humans until they started interfering with us, and like them, we were concerned largely with increasing our own power. But there were nine of us, and since none of us particularly liked any of the others, we fought constantly. In the end, we decided there would be a tournament of sorts, to decide who would be the greatest of us all. You see, despite our differences in power, the strongest didn't always win. Cunning played a large role in our battles, and I suppose that is why we all agreed to the idea of fighting for power: we each thought we were smarter than the others."

"How did you do?" Hinata asked.

"Third place," he sighed.

"That's amazing!"

He blinked. "You think so, do you?"

"Well, yes! If it's true that the number of tails you have is directly related to how much chakra you have, and you managed to place better than two of the beasts with more tails than you…"

"Yes, that's true. But I had three unfair advantages. I was skilled in the use of all the elements, I had the sense enough to cheat, and I was smarter than most of the others."

Hinata frowned. "How could you cheat? Were there even rules?"

The boy shook his head. "No, actually. But the general idea was one-on-one battles, even if no one said it. As I said, we were all pretty egotistical, but I was the only one that noticed something truly important."

"What was it?"

"Of all the times we'd fought, through all those battles… Kyuubi never lost. Never. And I wasn't so full of myself that I thought any of us could defeat him alone. So I made a pact with one of the others to kill him. And before you say anything, I'd remind you that the only reason his opponents survived was so that he could gloat when he invariably beat us all. There's really no point in being the greatest of us all if we weren't all there to see it, I guess."

Hinata nodded slowly, as that certainly sounded like the Kyuubi she knew. "So you made a deal, so that you'd have an equal number of tails to fight Kyuubi with?"

"No, but you'd think so, wouldn't you? I wasn't interested in trying to overpower him, because I didn't think it was possible. He never lost, so I thought the only way to get past him was if he were dead. I approached Nibi, because she had nearly as much sense as me, and death was her area of expertise. She agreed that Kyuubi was too powerful for any of us alone, and the pact was made. I would distract him while she summoned the Shinigami to take his soul. It didn't go so well. I was mortally wounded, and she would've died instantly, if the Shinigami hadn't stepped in to save her. But because she fell first, I got more credit for the loss. So instead of tying with me, she came in fourth place." He paused, his expression becoming wistful. "She was the only one I ever considered an ally, and though the partnership would not have lasted long, I did not wish for it to end that way."

"It sounds like you cared about her," Hinata murmured.

"I suppose I did, as much as it was wise to, at such a time. But even if she had intended to betray me first, I would have held no grudge against her. We both understood why we joined forces, and we knew Kyuubi might still kill us both, if we proved too frustrating for him. Fighting together was our best chance for victory, even with only seven tails between us. Any other would have been too proud to admit they needed the help."

"And your wound… it never healed?"

"No," the boy replied. "Had I done nothing, I would have died a long time ago. I used most of my strength to seal myself into a tree. Normally, I could heal my wounds with but a thought. But Kyuubi's chakra would not be expelled, and its poison would spread if I continued to use my demonic chakra. Ironically, nature, the very force that I once sought to control utterly, chose to save my life. I found that by releasing my chakra into nature, it was purified, renewed. At first, I was hesitant to do so, since the chakra I received back was more elemental than demonic. But I came to see that nature was my only salvation. I could either cling to my demonic chakra and die quickly, or embrace the elements and live forever. I chose the latter, and I do not regret it. I could always manipulate the elements, but my control is so much stronger, now that I have become one with them."

Hinata frowned thoughtfully. "How did you go from being sealed in the tree to being inside Michio?"

"The Inuzuka came to me one day, recognized what I was, and pledged their loyalty to me. I was grateful for the assistance, and through them I received news on what was happening to the others. I did not wish to take my chances against Akatsuki alone, so I chose one of the Inuzuka as a vessel and shared my power and knowledge with him. Possession is one of my specialties, you see, so there was no need to actually seal myself in him. However, Akatsuki did come for me, and though I was able to resist, the effort cost my host his life. I was surprised when his brother stepped forward and offered his body, but I was in no position to refuse. The Inuzuka have done their best to protect me all these years, so I reward their loyalty with my own protection. They consider it an honor to be my temporary host, and I have done my best to make that perception true."

"And you're here… because you don't want revenge?"

The boy smiled. "Even if I did, I doubt it would be possible. Kyuubi probably still has power over my wound. I would not be surprised if he could cripple me with a glance. As I told you, we knew what we were fighting for. It was pointless to hold grudges. And if not for Kyuubi, I would never have truly tapped into the power of nature. I suppose I should thank him. Michio has an unusually strong command of the elements he is able to use so far. I believe he can master them all before he becomes a man. The chuunin exams will allow me to determine how ready he is to attempt unlocking his fourth element… and my fourth tail."

"Won't that attract attention?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"I have no intention of doing so here, mind you. But it is essential that my host be able to unlock all of my power, should the need ever arise. The transformations are not pleasant, but I can assure you that they're nowhere near as painful as they could be, had human hands sealed me. Human and demonic chakra just doesn't mix naturally, you see. The fusion has to be forced by sealing in even the best cases. I have contained the wound Kyuubi gave me the best I can, and it's the only demonic portion that my host has to contend with. I tried to transfer some of his chakra to another body, and Kagemaru was the result. Fortunately, I had the foresight to put more of me than Kyuubi into the mix, so he is still loyal to me… too much so, at times. I could reshape him, but I fear that might produce an even more undesirable result, and Michio still needs him to handle the stress of a three-tail transformation."

"Are you sure that Michio can handle all of this? He's so young, and… small!"

The boy chuckled. "He has much of his father in him, and that makes him strong. I know it doesn't seem like it, but Kagemaru has responded better to him than any other host I've had. But what Michio told you is true: he was a very sickly child. There were times when I didn't think he would've survived, if I had come across him any later than I did. I was healing him long before he became my host, and now he is helping me of his own free will. His heart is strong, and it will continue to be for as long as I am with him. There is no need to worry, Hinata-sama. I will look after the boy. It is in my best interest, after all. I may be able to choose a host freely, but it takes time to teach each one how to best use my power."

"It's strange, isn't it?" Hinata murmured. "We were always taught that the tailed beasts were evil. But you're the second one I've met that's… changed. Do you think the others might have, if they hadn't been extracted?"

"No. Not all of them, anyway," he replied, shaking his head as he got to his feet. "I enjoyed talking with you, Hinata-sama, but I must go. Kagemaru will no doubt become frantic if I am away too long. Please inform your husband that he can find me among the Inuzuka, should he wish to speak with me." He started to walk away, then paused. "I don't suppose I could convince you to sign a summoning contract with the dogs? Or would that be inappropriate?"

"I'm certain Kyuubi would say so, though not nearly as nicely," Hinata replied with a smile. "Akamaru is the only dog I've ever needed, which makes him the only dog Kyuubi would ever accept. But I thank you for offering, anyway. Irihi and Hanako might be interested, though."

The boy smiled in returned. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

A week later, Houkou woke up to find a familiar presence looming over him.

"Get up, you damn sneaky mutt. I'm not going to waste a whole day on you."

Houkou knew the voice, and it also explained how he'd managed gotten complete control of Michio's body. The poor boy had probably been so scared that he couldn't think to do anything else but hide behind his own demon.

"Kyuubi. Always a pleasure," Houkou sighed, slowly opening his eyes. He was not quite surprised to see a red-eyed version of Uzumaki Naruto standing over him, or the original standing in the doorway. Hana had told Michio that Naruto frequently brought Irihi by to play with their puppies. "I assume this is not a social call."

"You're damn right, it isn't," Kyuubi sneered at him. "You were a charity case then, and you're one now. The only difference is that your scent is slightly cleaner, but you still stink like every other mutt I've ever encountered."

"It is hardly my fault that my body knows how to absorb excess elemental power, any more than it is your body's fault for producing chakra that is poisonous to virtually anyone but your host. Did I ever thank you for that, by the way? I haven't been able to run at my top speed in so long that I've forgotten what it is."

"You weren't all that fast to begin with."

Houkou's amber eyes narrowed. "Is there really a need to brag, Kyuubi? We all know that you won. You always did."

"Of course there's no need, mutt. I just happen to thoroughly enjoy it, and since there's nothing you can do about it, it's twice as fun."

"I thought you didn't want to spend all day on this?" Naruto interrupted, scowling at Kyuubi's back.

Kyuubi snarled at him. "Back off, brat. He's lucky all I'm doing is insulting him. I'm not usually so lenient with anyone who tries to kill me."

"The list of people who haven't tried to kill you would be shorter, and you know it. You agreed to do this as a favor to Hinata, so the least you could do is be somewhere approaching civil about it."

At that, Houkou froze. "Hinata-sama asked him to come? But why?"

Kyuubi snorted loudly as he stretched out a clawed hand. "You sound as if you honestly expect me to tell you, mutt. Just hold still and try not to whimper. I've only come here to take back what's mine."

Without warning, Houkou felt a sharp tug in his side, and then roared in pain as something was forcefully pulled out of him, writhing and struggling like a living thing as it left him. He caught a glimpse of something black and flamelike swirling in Kyuubi's palm before it was absorbed into his hand. Then the pain became too much, and Houkou retreated back into Michio's body, returning full control to the boy.

For a moment, Michio had no idea where he was, and knew only that his side felt like it was on fire. Then he looked down and gasped as a dark stain began to spread rapidly through his jacket. The scent of blood was thick in his nose, and for some unknown reason, Houkou was not healing him.

"You're a little short, boy. Where's the rest of it?" a voice above him snapped.

Michio looked up, only to find a pair of burning red eyes staring straight at him. He was not so dazed that he didn't have the sense to be afraid, and quickly shrank against the wall. "K-Kagemaru, I need you!" he breathed.

The owner of the red eyes didn't even blink as his clawed hand shot out and seized the attacking dog by the throat the instant it appeared between them. "So this is where you stowed the rest of my chakra. Clever, mutt, but I'll be taking it all back."

Kagemaru went limp as his fur faded from black to gray. He was dropped roughly to the floor soon after.

"I'm done here, brat. They're all yours." The red-eyed man vanished into a thin red mist.

Michio shuddered and collapsed, doing his best to keep his hand pressed over the large wound. He began to black out as Naruto scooped him up and shouted, "Sakura-chan! Hana nee-chan! Get in here NOW!"

* * *

"So the guy says, 'Oh, yeah? What's gonna make me go back to prison? The sight of you in that ugly green get-up?' Lee-san just flicks him, and the guy slams into the prison wall, goes through it, and hits a support beam that brings the whole prison down on top of him! We even got paid extra since none of the prisoners were in any condition to escape after that."

Michio's ears picked up the familiar sound of an amused snort from Miwa, and he carefully opened his eyes. He was lying in a hospital bed with Miki and Hanako perched on either side of it. Irihi was sitting in a chair next to the bed, and Miwa was leaning against the wall.

"Hey, Mi-chan! You're awake!" Irihi shouted happily, leaning past Hanako to pat him on the shoulder.

"How long was I out?" he asked as Miki gave him a big hug.

"A week," Miwa replied at once.

"Don't scare us like that!" Hanako scolded, making a fist and waving it threateningly over his head.

Michio winced and covered his head with his hands, but Hanako only leaned in and lightly kissed him on the forehead, blushing slightly as she pulled away.

"That's mostly for saving me before you even knew me," Hanako said quickly. "So don't read too much into it! Besides, you'll get the same thing from my mother when she comes to change your bandages!"

Almost automatically, Michio pictured a slightly older, shapelier version of Hanako kissing his head. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to feel at all disappointed about getting a kiss from her, too.

"Better hope your boyfriend doesn't find out," Miki teased with a wide grin.

"He's not-!" Hanako cried.

"Yeah, yeah," Miwa grunted, walking over and punching Michio lightly on the arm. "You better heal fast. We've got serious training to do."

"Yes, nee-san," he replied, smiling at her. When she half-heartedly scowled at him in return, Michio leaned back against his pillow and turned his thoughts inward.

It took a little longer than he was used to, but Michio soon found himself in the mindscape of a peaceful forest, with the familiar form of Houkou towering over him. The scene was unusual in that the giant dog seemed sluggish, and his normally white fur was a bit pale.

"Houkou-sama… we aren't healing at the expected rate. Is something blocking your chakra?" the boy asked.

The dog sighed and shook his head. "Calm yourself, pup. Kyuubi may have helped us by extracting his chakra, but as usual, his gifts are not so easily received. He made no attempt to be gentle, and even with the medic-nin's assistance, it will take me a few days to heal the wound. Even then, there will probably be a scar, and I cannot guarantee that the pain will vanish completely, only that it will be minimal and infrequent. It's the best result we could hope for, considering that Kyuubi did the extraction himself. I suppose we are lucky that Uzumaki Naruto is nowhere near as bloodthirsty."

"I don't believe luck had anything to do with it. You would not have risked coming here if you were unsure of how he might react to us. You waited until you were certain that Kyuubi was not controlling him. That must be why you chose to stay away from Konoha."

"It wasn't the only reason, pup. No tailed beast in their right mind would venture into a village that sealed Kyuubi. In all honesty, I was more concerned about what they might attempt to do to me. Kyuubi would at least have enough honor to kill me quickly. Probably."

Michio frowned. "But we're here now."

"Yes. And now that there is no demonic chakra left in me, our situation has improved dramatically. You will find your Mokuton jutsu even easier to perform from now on. My connection to nature has never been stronger. We really must do something to thank Hinata-sama for her kindness."

"What could we do? She is under Kyuubi's protection, and I don't think he'd allow her to accept a gift from us."

Houkou thought for a few seconds. "True. It will have to be more of an indirect gift. I think she would appreciate a kind act for someone close to her even more than anything we might give her."

Michio emerged from the mindscape with a smile on his face. "Irihi-san, how would you like the ability to speak to and understand all dogs?"

Irihi stared at him in disbelief. "Is that trick question?"

"No, I'm quite-"

"Sign me up!" she shouted eagerly.

"Don't you either have to be born an Inuzuka, or have signed a contract to do that?" Hanako asked.

"Normally, yes," Miki replied. "But there are always exceptions. Hinata-sama, for example."

Hanako stared at Michio curiously. "And you can just give that to anyone?"

"Not just anyone," Michio answered. "But Irihi-san has, um… won the favor of the dog spirit."

"How?"

Michio opened his mouth, but then closed it. Houkou generally had nothing against anyone who treated his host well, so it wasn't a complete lie. Irihi hadn't really done anything beyond that, though.

"You don't question these things, Hanako-san," Miki said, giving her brother a wink. "The spirits might take it personally; they're quite easily offended."

"Oh. Um. Should I apologize to someone then?" Hanako asked softly, looking nervous.

"You could try kissing Michio again," Miki suggested before she burst into giggles.

"I-I'm sure the dog spirit realizes you were unaware, and holds nothing against you, Hanako-san," Michio murmured, his face bright red.

"You two can kiss later. When do I get to talk to Akamaru?" Irihi demanded.

"As soon as I'm out of the hospital," Michio promised. "It should only be a few more days, I think."

"Oh, really?" asked a voice from the doorway. "I had no idea you were an authorized medic-nin."

Michio looked over to see a woman who could only be Hanako's mother. She appeared to be somewhat annoyed that he'd set his own release date, but healing was one of Houkou's specialties, so she had no idea how fast he'd recover. "I'm not, Haruno-san. But I heal very quickly…"

"From what I saw when you were bleeding all over me, what you're talking about is either impossible or inhuman. You'll be staying here until I send you home." The hard expression on her face softened slightly. "The least I can do for the boy who saved my daughter's life is to make sure he doesn't endanger his own needlessly. Unless, of course, you want Hanako following you everywhere until we're certain you won't injure yourself again."

"Yeah, since that would just be horrible for him," Miki added, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, you definitely can't die before I get to talk to Akamaru," Irihi decided with a nod.

"I'm touched by your concern," Michio chuckled.

Irihi waved him off. "I'm pretty sure Hanako is worried enough for the both of us, Mi-chan."

"I AM NOT!" Hanako protested, blushing furiously. "It's my duty as a medic-nin in training to protect life!"

"Especially the cute guys like my brother, right?" Miki asked.

"He saved me! Of course I want him to be okay!"

"Miki-chan, stop it," Michio sighed. "If the two of us are meant to be together, it will happen. We don't need you to push us."

Miki pouted. "Oh, fine. But you'll never get a nice girl like her on your own if you don't try a little harder. Not unless you intend to save her life every day."

"I can think of worse fates," Michio responded, earning a smile from Sakura and yet another blush from Hanako.

**End of Part 4.**

* * *

Endnotes:

Michio: man on the correct path

Kagemaru: shadow (-maru is a common ending for boys' names, though in Naruto it seems to apply to dogs, too)

Hime: princess; a title usually reserved for royalty or nobility, but sometimes applied to other women to show great respect or affection

Miki: beautiful tree, three trees

Miwa: beautiful harmony, three rings

Gobi no Houkou: The five-tailed dog of the tailed beasts. More details below.

Nibi no Nekomata: The two-tailed cat of the tailed beasts. Either female (which I prefer) or able to assume female forms (which just brings up ISSUES I don't want to get into). Apparently had some power over death, though how much is arguable. But since she could summon Shinigami without actually having to die in the process, I'd say she had a good handle on it.

Shinigami: God of Death (or a representation of that entity, in some cases)

I don't think Hana's dogs are big enough to carry a person in the anime or manga, so just assume they hit major growth spurts like Akamaru did. After all, if Inuzuka don't know how to raise bigger and better dogs, who would?

I'm mostly basing the way Miwa and Miki dress on the clothing of the wolf demons from Inuyasha. You also might have noticed that their dogs didn't show up. More on that later.

The incident with Shinju and the enemy ninja will be expanded on later. In case you forgot, the grandfather Irihi refers to is Hyuuga Hizashi, who was killed in order to maintain peace with Hidden Cloud, who had the gall to send in a ninja to kidnap Hinata. Hiashi killed said ninja (rightfully so), and Hidden Cloud demanded a life for a life. Hizashi had the incredible bad luck to be Hiashi's twin brother, which means he got screwed twice for the same offense, which he never had any control over in the first place. I'm not implying that the Aburame are smarter or sneakier than the Hyuuga, though. I am saying they'd be enough of both not to get caught with the evidence… or leave any at all, for that matter.

You would NOT believe how much trouble goes into packaging a relatively undescribed tailed beast for a fanfic. In other words, don't take ANYTHING I wrote about the five-tailed beast (or any other) as fact. I mostly made a ton of assumptions from Japanese folklore and Naruto fansites/forums. Even if the legend is fake, this is fanfic, so I can get away with it.

Michio's weapons/jutsu:

**Binding Chakra Chains**: The chains on Michio's body serve numerous functions. Most importantly, they aid in anchoring Houkou's spirit to Michio at all times, especially in the midst of a transformation. Secondly, they constantly absorb and store a portion of Houkou's chakra so Michio's body won't be overwhelmed by it. Third, the chains act as an automatic defense by responding directly to Houkou's will, so he can aid or restrain his host as needed. Michio can actually change the length of the chains in an instant by absorbing chakra from them, or releasing it into them. Additionally, the chains can link to Kagemaru's collar for team attacks.

**Mokuton (Wood Release): Root Cage, Doton (Earth Release): Underground Path**:

By seeking out (or creating) roots underground, Michio can use Houkou's chakra to transport himself and others great distances in just a few seconds. This is more easily done in wooded areas, and while the chakra of the passengers is not required for the actual transport, Houkou can easily use many types of chakra, and is always on the lookout for rarer, more powerful varieties.

**Mokuton (Wood Release): Infinite Sylvan Gift**: This is the process through which Michio can store chakra in, and/or reabsorb it from trees. Michio must focus to do this, but when transformed, can accelerate the process so that he releases chakra and reabsorbs it, along with added nutrients, at a near constant rate. This is the secret to Houkou's ultimate power: relying on purified "nature chakra" for strength, rather than demonic chakra. In a sufficiently wooded area, Houkou cannot run out of chakra.

Kagemaru's jutsu:

**Rapid Replacement**: By using the Replacement jutsu in quick succession, along with strategically positioned clones, Kagemaru can quickly teleport an object over an unknown distance. The only requirement is that each clone has to either be in sight of another, or know another's exact location.

Houkou's abilities:

The most famous of Houkou's skills is the ability to wield the power of all five elements with ease. However, this is tied directly to his five tails (which can cause virtually any kind of natural disaster), as each one contains the power of a single element. And this is even further limited (now) by his host's ability to use all the elements, or to handle a tailed transformation. For example, Michio's proficiency in Mokuton jutsu is a direct result of having unlocked the water and earth tails first. Houkou has several other talents, including enhanced senses, human possession, seeing (or smelling) through illusions, and healing almost any wound (on himself or others) through contact with his blood. He also has some knowledge of sealing. Though his goal was once to destroy nature so he alone could possess the power of the elements, Houkou has since made something of a pact with nature, and can tap into its power far more easily now.

Disclaimer: Yamanaka Isai, Haruno Hanako, Hyuuga Irihi, Kaneda, Aburame Shinju, Uzumaki Enten, Uzumaki Tsuki, Inuzuka Miwa, Inuzuka Michio, Kagemaru, and Inuzuka Miki belong to me. All other characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. (Gaara plushies arguably belong to everyone, though.)


	5. Mind Games

Notes: Probably a sign you've been at it too long when you have to cover the chuunin exams twice, right? I never could take a hint.

Summary: Team Kaneda enters the chuunin exams, and Irihi has a perfect plan. That's good. But the first proctor isn't going to go easy on anybody. That's bad...

**The Iron Hyuuga**

**Part 5: Mind Games**

**A Naruto Fanfic by**

**Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)**

On the morning that her team was to participate in the chuunin exams, Hyuuga Irihi woke up to a startling realization.

She was lonely. To the point where she would have even accepted an offer to hang out with Inuzuka Miwa, of all people. And she was pretty sure that Miwa didn't even like herself most of the time.

Everyone had seemed to accept that they'd have to fight against their friends and teammates, if they made it far enough in the exams, around the same time. Consequently, Irihi had found her small but reliable circle of friends suddenly very distant.

Sayuri had been the first to break away, and that had not been at all surprising. Irihi had purposely stayed away from the Uzumaki compound, although there had been several very curious explosions originating from there over the past few days. Naruto told the overly concerned ANBU that he was working on an exploding summon, and no further inquiries were made (apparently not even battle-hardened shinobi cared to see toad guts splattered everywhere).

Shinju, if the rumors were true, had sworn that she would not leave her home until she mastered her latest jutsu. There were no explosions, but several members of the Aburame Clan (or more precisely, their insects) seemed very agitated about something they refused to discuss. And Irihi knew that if Shinju had found something that would make even an Aburame uncomfortable, anyone who faced Shinju in the chuunin exams would be in big trouble.

Even Hanako and Isai had decided to spend time apart for their training. But while Hanako was asking for advice from virtually every adult she looked up to, Isai had gone to only one person: Haruno Sakura. Irihi had no idea what the medic-nin might be teaching him, but hoped that Isai would at least learn how to throw Sakura's left hook, which was rumored to lay any man flat on his back (Naruto maintained that this was most definitely a fact). At any rate, neither Hanako nor Isai tried to hog Rock Lee, so Irihi spent all of her free time training with him.

It was only after she'd been away from her team for a few days that Irihi began to miss her sensei. But even Kaneda had been busy with training, and Irihi was surprised when she discovered that he'd been coaching the Inuzuka siblings. Michio and Miwa had both picked up Kaneda's "immovable jutsu" to some degree. Miki was too small for that (or not powerful enough), so Kaneda had equipped her with his rock surfing platform, and she became an absolute terror around the Inuzuka compound, zooming through the air and keeping the dogs in a constant state of panic. Kaneda obviously didn't want his team to have too easy a time in the exams, and Irihi could not get angry at him. He was only trying to make them stronger by sending them against strong opponents, which made him no different from any other jounin who volunteered his genin for the exams.

Although if Kaneda had taught Miwa any of HER moves, Irihi wouldn't speak to him for a whole month.

* * *

Yamanaka Isai stared at the bowl of rice in front of them, and then at the woman who had placed it there. "I think I'm going to throw up again, Sakura-san."

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "You have to eat something, Isai. You're too thin as it is, and it's not healthy to compete at such a high level while skipping meals. Believe me, I know."

"But I won't be able to keep it down, anyway!"

With almost no warning, Sakura's face twisted in outrage. "EAT IT, WORM!"

The bowl was empty in an instant.

"As I was saying," Sakura continued calmly, as if she hadn't just snapped at him, "you need to keep your energy up. There will be plenty of genin that are bigger and stronger than you. You'll need every advantage you can bring to the table, plus any they're foolish enough to give you."

Isai swallowed hard, his eyes tearing up slightly as he forced the rice to stay down. No matter how much he was exposed to Sakura's "other side," it was the one thing that terrified him above all others. Nearly as frightening was the fact that she could turn it on and off, at will, within the space of a second (and that was all she usually needed to scare him senseless). "I don't know if I'm cut out for this, Sakura-san. Hanako and Irihi-chan are so much stronger than me..."

"So? I was the weakest on my team for a long time, and yet you came to me because I'm one of the strongest people you know. So don't think that you can't change yourself, because you can."

"I just don't know," Isai sighed, looking depressed.

"Well, let's try this," Sakura suggested, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "Either you can take on all comers out there... or you can try to last one minute with me while I hold nothing back."

She expected him to run, or perhaps a good scream. Instead, Isai's eyes rolled up into his head, and he fainted.

"All comers it is." With great care, Sakura scooped up his limp form and smiled, pressing his head to her heart. "I know you'll make me proud, Isai. I just wish you knew that, too."

* * *

Haruno Hanako was in a foul mood, to say the least.

It had taken three whole days to talk Uchiha Sayuri into sparring with her. And just when she had finally worn the stubborn girl down, they'd only been able to fight for an hour or so before Hanako got a headache. Had it been a normal headache, she would have simply ignored it.

But as Hanako was naturally stronger than several adults she knew, her headaches were proportionally worse. They tended to spread until her entire body was one big, throbbing ache, and consequently, she could barely even stand when they reached that point.

Fortunately, Sayuri had been in a strangely generous mood. Hanako had been a little apprehensive when Sayuri tied her onto Akamaru's back, but that was only because she couldn't focus enough to hold on herself.

Everything after that was a blur, and the next thing Hanako knew, she'd woken up in a hospital bed with Shizune peering into her eyes, and Inuzuka Miki carefully covering her leg with what appeared to be a very elaborate sunflower design (though why she was using only red fingerpaint to do so, Hanako was too afraid to even guess).

"Try to relax, Hanako-chan," Shizune said at once, smiling slightly. "Pain is the body's way of trying to get your attention, so I'm glad you didn't try to ignore it."

"Where's Sayuri? Did she bring me here?"

"No, actually she brought you straight to me, in the middle of my lunch hour. She left right after I told her that you'd be fine. According to your records, you get these headaches every few months, correct?"

Hanako nodded. "Yeah, and they usually go away after a couple of hours. I never passed out before, though... Are you going to tell my mother?"

Shizune stared at her. "Is there any reason I shouldn't?"

"She'll just fuss over me and try to stop me from entering the exams. Right now, she probably thinks I've been with Sayuri all night. If she finds out the truth, then..."

"You're certain you feel better now?" Shizune asked slowly.

Hanako nodded rapidly. "Yes! And stop painting on me!"

Shizune blinked as Miki looked up, pouting and seeming only slightly guilty.

"So I can go, right?" Hanako asked eagerly.

"I don't know. You really should be taking it easy right now, and you won't exactly be able to do that in the exams."

"My mother is the second strongest kunoichi in Konoha, and my father is the fastest man alive," Hanako snapped. "I don't know HOW to take it easy, and even if I did, I wouldn't do it today! My teammates are counting on me! Either you can lead me out the front door, or I can go out the window alone, but I am GOING to the chuunin exams!"

Shizune closed her eyes briefly. "You realize that even though I have a million other things to do today, I could still take the time to restrain you?"

"With all due respect, Shizune-san, unless you're personally going to hold me down all day, then you can expect to see me at the exams. And I know you're one of the medic-nin on duty today, so you don't have time to waste on me."

"I'll let you go on one condition," Shizune said at last. "If you get hurt to the point where you need medical attention, your mother is going to treat you, and you're going to tell her everything."

Hanako winced and sighed. "Fine. I'm going now."

"FINALLY!" Miki sighed loudly, packing up her miniature paint set in just a few seconds. "I thought you were going to make me show up all by myself!"

Hanako stared at her in surprise. "You could've gone without me."

"Not really. Michio couldn't come because Miwa made him train right up until the last minute. Anyway, I'd rather go with you than hear Miwa grumbling the whole way. I don't know if you've noticed, but she's pretty sour most of the time. So let's go, before we're late!"

Frowning, Hanako quickly reviewed her options. It probably was better to leave with someone, just in case she wasn't as healthy as she thought. Miki was a little hyper, and somewhat weird, but she had been nice enough to visit, which was more than anyone else had done.

"Okay, come on," Hanako grumbled, her bad mood lessening slightly in the face of Miki's megawatt grin.

"Great! I'll get the window for you!"

"Um, I wasn't really serious about the window-"

"It's faster," Miki noted as she fiddled with the lock and slid the window open. "And this way, we can race without anyone getting in the way! Plus it's good training!"

Hanako thought about protesting again, but then she noticed that Shizune was beginning to rethink her decision. "GO!" she shouted.

Miki pratically tumbled out of the window, and Hanako leaped out after her. It was mildly annoying that Miki had forgotten to mention they were on the fourth floor, but since the smaller girl ran down the side of the building and landed with no trouble, Hanako certainly wasn't going to say anything. She just made sure to wave up at Shizune before hurrying after Miki.

"Wanna get some more training in on the way?" Miki asked when they'd been running for about a minute.

"I'm listening," Hanako replied uncertainly, especially when she noticed the scroll that suddenly appeared in Miki's hand.

* * *

"Maybe I should have waited for Hanako at home," Isai murmured, glancing around nervously.

"She'll be here," Irihi replied confidently, stretching her arms lazily.

They had only been waiting outside of the appointed classroom for two minutes, and while it was true that no one had seen Hanako since yesterday afternoon, she had also never been late when it was important.

"I could probably go home and check-" Isai offered, but Irihi cut him off with a sharp look.

"Then Hanako would get here on time, and you'd be late. She'll be here, Isai-kun. Today is just as important to her as it is to us."

Sure enough, Hanako ran up a few seconds later, carrying a rather pleased Miki on her back.

"Where were you?" Isai asked. "And why-"

"It was her idea!" Hanako snapped defensively. "She wouldn't stop pulling logs out of those damn scrolls until I threatened to drop her!"

"Well, that's how I train when I run," Miki replied innocently, hopping off of Hanako's back. "I thought everyone used logs for that."

Isai blinked a few times. "Um, we saw your brother and sister go by. I think you guys are in classroom 106."

"Sounds right. Thanks!" Miki ran off, shouting over her shoulder, "Bye, Hanako-chan! Good luck!"

Irihi grinned. "We're all here now, so... um, Hanako, is that a tattoo?"

"No," Hanako said firmly, thrusting one leg behind the other.

"Okay then..." Shrugging, Irihi opened the classroom door and walked in, Isai and Hanako filing in behind her.

"I wonder why they split the teams up this year," Isai said quietly. "I thought the first stage of the exams was a written test."

"At least, it used to be," Hanako agreed. "Looks like they changed the format this time around."

"No need to worry," Irihi stated at once. "I have a plan."

"What plan?"

"The plan that's going to take us all the way to the finals. Trust me."

Hanako traded a confused glance with Isai as they sat down on the floor. "If you say so, Irihi."

They hadn't been waiting long when the door opened. Isai instantly stiffened, and Hanako sat up straight, but Irihi more or less stayed as she was... at least, until she recognized the person.

"Oba-sama!" she cried in a mixture of shock and delight. "You made it!"

"So it would seem, Irihi," Hyuuga Hanabi replied quietly. She said nothing more as she moved into the classroom, and this did not surprise the three genin at all. The Hyuuga clan head was not known for her warm greetings, nor did Irihi expect one in public. Even Hanako and Isai had never seen Hanabi show more affection to her young heiress than a brief pat on the head, but Irihi never seemed to mind.

"Did you come to wish us luck, Hyuuga-sama?" Hanako asked slowly. She could think of no other reason why Hanabi might be there.

"Not quite, Hanako. While I was not surprised to hear that you three had chosen to participate in the chuunin exams, I admit I have some doubts. I wonder if you truly understand what challenges you will face as you take on more and more responsibility."

"With all due respect, Hyuuga-sama," Isai said quietly, "we are more mature than we might seem."

What might have been a smile began to form on Hanabi's lips, but it faded abruptly. "Confidence is key, but it is not enough. I must warn you that as difficult as ascending the ninja ranks is, falling back down that ladder is far easier if you are unprepared. I have come here to determine whether or not you three have the proper mindsets to become chuunin."

"Oba-sama, won't we miss our first test?" Irihi asked.

"You will not," Hanabi assured her, bringing her hands together to form a single hand seal. At once, the temperature of the room seemed to drop several degrees. "I am Hyuuga Hanabi, your first exam proctor. In a moment, I will penetrate your minds and place them in a dreamlike state. The only way to awaken is to escape the dream by choosing the correct course of action, and doing so within the time limit. If you pass, you will move on to the next stage. If you choose incorrectly, or cannot escape within the time limit, you fail. Do you have any questions?"

"Oba-sama," Irihi murmured softly, "why you?"

"Every genin team is being tested by someone who knows them well. How else can their weaknesses be exploited? It is my task to determine whether you can overcome those weaknesses and focus on what must be done: for the good of the mission, your teammates, and the village. Now, prepare yourselves."

There was no time to hesitate, as the room was instantly blanketed in inky darkness, and the three genin collapsed, completely at Hanabi's mercy, or lack thereof.

* * *

Hanako opened her eyes and gasped in horror at what awaited her.

The Hokage Tower was in flames, and perched on top of it was a single figure in black, radiating so much killing intent that it was difficult to breathe normally. And even that was made more difficult by the mixture of smoke from the fire and the poisonous black mist originating from the base of the tower.

Hanako's hand shot out to grab a nearby chuunin who was running past her. "You! What's happening?"

"The Last Uchiha is back!" he cried. "Everyone that's gotten near her is dead!"

Hanako's eyes narrowed. She only knew one female Uchiha. "Why isn't anyone trying to stop her?"

The chuunin stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. "What are you, suicidal? Even the Hokage couldn't stop her!"

"Then I'll have to!" Hanako shoved him away and ran for the tower, her fury building with every step. She didn't know why Sayuri had turned, but it didn't really matter. What did matter was that if Sayuri had gotten this far into the village, then she had already encountered, defeated, and most probably killed her rival. The thought only made her angrier.

Just when Hanako thought she'd have to come up with a way to get past the flames, the air directly in front of her blurred, and then she was staring into the blood-red of the Sharingan.

"I knew you would be the last, Hanako," Sayuri whispered, a twisted grin spreading across her face. "You always resisted my poison nearly as well as Shinju did. She had the distinct pleasure of standing in my way first, and I doubt even she can recover from a gaping hole in her own heart. I am beginning to wonder how you'll do, however..."

"Where is Irihi?" Hanako demanded. She didn't really want an answer, but part of her had to know how far gone Sayuri was.

"Thank her for me when you see her again," Sayuri replied, the grin never leaving her lips. "She truly was my dearest friend. She gave me my Mangekyou. It was the last thing she ever saw, and I promised her that I would save it for the rest of her team. You are the last, Hanako."

Hanako felt her heart slam to a stop. "You... killed Isai?"

Sayuri chuckled darkly. "He died with your name on his lips. As you no doubt knew he would."

Hanako closed her eyes tightly. "I wanted to believe Irihi when she told me you were good. I really did. But I think, deep down, I always knew you were evil. So this isn't as hard for me as you might think." Her eyes snapped open, and the grin suddenly left Sayuri's face as her killing intent was met with Hanako's own.

"So you have grown, too," Sayuri whispered, her eyes boring into Hanako's. "Good. I'll save the Mangekyou for last, then. I want to see what you've learned."

"Trust me, you really don't," Hanako growled. "Besides, you don't deserve to see what I've learned. You've killed the people I learned the most from. All you deserve is death, and that's exactly what I'm going to give you."

"You'll have to forgive me if I doubt that the mighty Uchiha bloodline will end at the hands of a flower child."

"You're in no position to judge. Or were you unaware that they'd started calling you Konoha's Poison Lily?"

"I have never concerned myself with what this village chose to call me. But the time for talking is done." With that, Sayuri extended her arms, and a dark violet blade emerged from each of her sleeves, dripping with what could only be poison. "Now show me this technique that you're so sure can kill me."

"I don't remember saying it was only one," Hanako replied with a smirk. It would take some time, she knew, but that was one good thing about the Uchiha pride: they were always interested in seeing the best a worthy opponent had to offer before going for the kill. If the opponent just so happened to kill them in the attempt, well, the Uchiha could only blame themselves.

With a silent apology to her parents, Hanako did something she had never dared to do. All her life she had restrained herself, pulled her punches, and trained her body to perform just below the optimal level. But no more. Now, all that suppressed power came rushing to the surface, and for the first time in her life, Hanako felt truly free. Her muscles trembled in anticipation, as if sensing that this would be their greatest, and final, performance ever.

Judging by the look on Sayuri's face, she was pleased, but not surprised. It was time to change that.

"All Gates... RELEASE!" Hanako shouted.

It was as if a bomb went off, with the pink-haired kunoichi standing at the center of impact. The earth splintered and cracked apart beneath her feet. A powerful wave of chakra-laced wind flew in all directions, nearly knocking Sayuri to her knees. By the time she caught herself, Hanako was upon her.

The first punch came in high, crashing into the back of Sayuri's head with enough force to shatter her skull and liquefy her brain.

The second strike transformed her heart, from a pulsing organ to so much red vapor.

As three sets of Hanako's arms locked around the Uchiha, she knew very well that she was holding a corpse. But this corpse, when it was alive, had killed her friends, her teammates, and her Hokage. Any sort of burial was too good for it. The body probably held countless secrets, but none of them would bring Hanako's precious people back to life, so they were meaningless.

"It's your own fault, Sayuri. I would only do this for someone who could defeat a Hokage and still be in shape to fight." Hanako took a deep breath. "Clone Great Explosion!"

The blast caught Hanako in the face and tossed her backwards, but she was beyond caring at that point. If the explosion didn't kill her, then opening every chakra gate in her body would. After all the life and death battles her father had survived, she wondered how he'd done it without ever taking this route. She knew for certain that having a medic-nin for a wife had allowed Rock Lee to open seven gates at one point, but never eight. But he'd had things to live for.

"Mom... Dad... I'm sorry," Hanako whispered as her body crashed to the ground. "I know I promised I'd never do this, but... I had to." And then, in a softer voice, "Forgive me, Irihi-chan. I'll apologize in person soon enough..."

* * *

Isai had expected a difficult battle, perhaps something that he'd only barely be able to escape with his life.

Instead, he got a gift shop.

He was still trying to make sense of it when Hanabi appeared beside him.

"Fortunately, Isai, you have an easier task than your teammates. Unfortunately, it will prove particularly difficult for you."

Isai didn't consider himself a master of shopping, but he didn't see how it could be THAT hard. Still, he was smart enough not to say so.

"Today is Hanako's eighteenth birthday. All you have to do is select the one gift that will mean more to her than any other. You have one hour."

Suddenly, a life and death battle was sounding really good. Isai knew from personal experience that Hanako held him to a higher standard, which was both a blessing and a curse. She expected more from him, so while she'd accept a disappointing gift from someone else, if Isai failed to get her something really special, she would make him regret it. Not only that, she would've been perfectly justified, because Isai knew her better than anyone.

So the fact that even he had no idea what to get her truly meant that Hanako was hard to shop for.

The gift shop was no great help, either. It seemed to have everything a girl could want, and then some. Even worse, Isai found himself with a pocket strangely full of money. He could easily afford anything that caught his eye... but nothing did.

Forty-five minutes later, Isai decided it was hopeless. There were some truly exquisite items in the gift shop, but none of them seemed like something that Hanako would want above all others. With a sigh, he slowly left the shop and headed for home.

He was halfway there when he decided that he had to get Hanako something, even if it wasn't what she really wanted. There wasn't time to double back to the gift shop. There was, however, a perfectly reasonable substitute just in front of him: the Yamanaka flower shop.

Suddenly, he wondered why he'd never thought of it before. Flower names ran in Hanako's family, she worked in the shop at least twice a week, and she never seemed bored when his mother went on and on about what certain flowers meant.

Feeling rather foolish but hopeful, Isai ran into the shop, snatched up the first pink flower he saw, threw some money on the counter, and was out the door before his mother could yell at him for practically stealing (even if this was a dream, it was the kind of detail that his mother would always fuss about, no matter what world they were in).

He made it home with two or three minutes to spare, only to find Hanako in her bedroom, wrapping bandages around her fingers with practiced ease. That most likely meant she'd spent the entire day training, and had completely forgotten her own birthday. Which also meant she had no expectations, and it would be much harder to disappoint her. Armed with that knowledge, Isai suddenly felt a lot safer.

"Have a good day?" he asked calmly, standing in her doorway.

"It was okay," Hanako replied, looking up briefly before focusing on her bandages again. "Where have you been?"

"Shopping."

That earned him a bewildered stare. "Shopping? You?"

"I know how to shop," Isai replied defensively. "Sort of."

"Uh huh. So what'd you get?"

"Nothing much. I'm hoping I can turn it into a nice gift anyway, though."

Hanako smiled at him. "I'm sure you'll manage to think of something. And if you need help, then I-"

"Um, you're not really allowed to help," Isai interrupted, smiling nervously.

"Oh, you mean because I'm a girl?" Hanako asked. "May I remind you that I have no problem with beating up a boy three times my size, much less-"

"You're not allowed," Isai continued, "because the gift is for you, and you helping to prepare it would spoil the surprise." With that, he brought the pink flower out from behind his back and presented it to her.

Hanako stared at the flower for what seemed like several minutes. Finally, she slowly reached out and took it, her hand trembling slightly.

"Happy Birthday," Isai said quietly. And then, because it just seemed like the right thing to do, he added, "Hanako-chan."

The flower slipped out of her hand and fell lightly to the floor.

Isai wasn't sure what to make of that, especially when Hanako suddenly turned away from him, her shoulders shaking. "What? What's wrong?"

"You've never called me that before," she whispered.

"I never had a reason to, until now." Isai bit his lip, and then continued. "You should have told me, instead of waiting for me to figure it out. Maybe I wouldn't have accepted it right away, and maybe things would have been awkward for a while, but you wouldn't have had to wait so long."

"It wasn't the waiting I minded so much," Hanako answered. "It was seeing you look at other girls. I always believed that you'd come around eventually, but sometimes I worried if someone else caught your eye."

Isai lightly placed his hands on her shoulders. "You know I'd never purposely hurt you."

"I know," she sighed. "But that's why it hurt so much. Because you had no idea how I felt. Maybe I should have told you, but I just... wanted you to know. I felt like you should already know, without me having to tell you. You were closer to me than anyone else."

"I guess I always thought you wanted something different. Someone like-"

"Michio?" Hanako offered, laughing softly. "Isai, even he saw it. Or smelled it. He was never too clear on that part. But he did say that he could not accept my body without my heart."

Isai froze. "Wait. Does that mean-"

"I kissed him. When he came to visit me in the hospital, right after we fought each other in the finals." She lowered her head, clearly embarrassed. "He, um... thanked me. Promised he'd always be there if I needed him. Then he basically told me I should be that bold with you. I guess we're both lucky that he's such a nice guy."

"Do... you still have feelings for him?"

Hanako raised her head. "He was the first person that showed that kind of interest in me. I'll always be thankful to him for that. But it honestly doesn't matter how I feel about him. He would never let me do anything that I'd regret."

Isai sighed. "You don't regret kissing him."

"No. It was a little embarrassing when he had to let me down easy, but I did enjoy it. But you don't need to be jealous, Isai. He was my first kiss, not my first love. And if I hadn't kissed him, I wouldn't be sure of my feelings for you. I'd still wonder if I'd made that right choice. But now there's no question in my mind that it's you I wanted all along. Michio was only a dear friend, since he wouldn't allow himself to be anything else with you in the picture."

"You know that's not very reassuring to me," Isai admitted weakly.

Hanako grinned. "Oh, Michio was very clear on that. If you ever leave me, Miwa will maul you to death, and I'll spend the rest of my life with him. But we all assume it will never come to that. Well, Michio and me do, anyway. Miwa just started sharpening her claws and laughing." She turned around and poked him in the chest. "Of course, if you don't plan on leaving me, then you have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah. Right." Isai closed his eyes and sighed again. "Did you like the flower at least?"

"Nope, but all that matters is that you gave me one at all," Hanako replied. "That, and your heart. That's all I ever really wanted."

Isai frowned at her. "Oh, NOW you tell me..."

* * *

"Hokage-sama, you MUST make a decision!"

Irihi's eyes snapped open, and she knew at once that something was horribly wrong. She was wearing formal robes, the kind that the stuffy, important people she detested always wore. Even worse, she was wearing a funny hat, and not the good kind of funny, either. Perhaps the strangest thing was that she smelled... nice. Like she dressed up and met people all the time. The very thought sickened her.

Okay, she was being a little overdramatic. After all, she was being groomed to one day be the Hyuuga clan head. But it had always been her intention to make that job fun, even if she had to paint her face like a clown's and dare the diplomats to laugh at her. The look on their faces alone would be worth it.

"Hokage-sama!" an angry voice repeated, even louder this time.

She blinked, and the clues all slid into place with horrifying finality.

They were calling HER that.

The room was full of anxious people, but Irihi had been too caught up in her own terror to even notice them. The very idea that any person, much less more than one, had put her in charge of Konoha, was mind-numbing. Even more so than the funny hat perched ridiculously on her head.

Damn Naruto, turning his dream into her nightmare.

And damn Hanabi, for knowing both of them well enough to know this would haunt Irihi endlessly.

"Shut up, I'm trying to think!" Irihi snapped, somehow sensing that the same voice would pester her a third time.

There was a shocked gasp, accompanied by more than a few amused chuckles.

Forcing herself to calm down a little, Irihi looked around, not surprised to find that the person that had been annoying her bore more than a passing resemblance to Isai. He had a way of annoying her like no other, and only he would call her "Hokage-sama" after having known her for years. It took a second more for her to realize that it WAS Isai, but he looked drastically different. For one thing, there was a long, jagged scar that started on the left side of his forehead and stretched all the way down to the right side of his jaw, crossing through his left eye, nose, and lips. Right now, he looked as if Irihi had put the scar there herself... and for all she knew, maybe that assumption was actually a fact.

The rest of her friends still seemed friendly, at least. Hanako was trying to pull Isai back into his seat without hurting him. Shinju was looking on, her face unreadable (not to mention unseen). Sayuri was off to the side with her eyes closed, and was quite obviously bored (Irihi noted with a smile that even though Sayuri still wore her personalized headband, her black cloak now bore a flaming, snarling fox head on the left collar, and the Uchiha fan on the right). Even Tsuki was there, though Irihi couldn't figure out why until her cousin snapped at Isai.

"You leave her alone, Isai! Do you really think Irihi would be Hokage if she could just sacrifice a family member she grew up alongside without hesitation? Nobody is forcing you to give up Hanako, so keep your fool mouth shut!"

"Enough," Sayuri sighed, opening her eyes. Her Sharingan was still activated, and the room instantly got quiet. "Yamanaka, all of Konoha knows you bear a grudge against Irihi for the scar on your face. Since you clearly aren't going to let it go any time soon, at least do us a favor and try not to let it rule everything you say. No one is going to be exiled just because you don't feel pretty anymore."

Isai's face turned bright red, but he wisely remained silent.

"Tsuki, we all know your feelings on the matter. There's no need for you to respond to every statement made here. No one doubts that you want your brother to stay."

Tsuki's face fell. "He's your brother, too..."

"But unlike you, I don't let that fact rule my thinking." Sayuri turned to Irihi. "The facts are that Enten is without question the strongest person in Konoha, just like his father was. He also possesses a power that no one but him completely understands, and it is a source of great mystery and fear. But there has been no conclusive proof that this power is that of Kyuubi reborn. Yet we would all be unwise to simply ignore its existence. The question now is what will be done, and that is for our Hokage to decide. I suggest that we all be patient, since you are literally asking her to repeat a past mistake that nearly destroyed this village. I trust I do not need to remind anyone that without the combined powers of Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi, and Gamabunta, this village would have fallen during the Sand-Sound invasion. Perhaps we should not be so quick to send away a person who has, so far, done nothing but support this village, and has no history of violence against any person inside of it. I would even go so far as to say that I have had more murderous thoughts of this village in my first month here than Enten ever will, and I have been allowed to re-establish my clan here."

"You don't have a demon inside of you," Isai was quick to point out.

"And you honestly believe that makes me less likely to kill, say, someone like YOU?" Sayuri asked with a raised eyebrow. "Clearly you haven't dealt with me or Enten very often."

Isai's face turned a spectacular shade of purple.

Shinju cleared her throat. "I think we are all forgetting that there is no proof that any of the tailed beasts has survived Akatsuki or human prejudice to this date. There is no person that can definitively prove that Uzumaki Enten has a demon, or is capable of wielding demonic power. And even if he did and could, it would be incredibly foolish to give him any reason to use that power against us, or to not have it on our side in another war. He may not prove as longsuffering and forgiving as his father was."

"Well, there's no point in wasting Irihi's time with this if we don't give her a chance to talk," Hanako pointed out. "It is her cousin you're trying to kick out."

Irihi found she didn't need time to think, however. The words seemed to be in her mouth before she realized it.

"Uzumaki Enten has been like a brother to me, and he has done a great deal for this village. It is because of him that his father didn't destroy Konoha in a blind rage when Tsuki was kidnapped. It is because of him that Sayuri survived to begin the Uchiha Clan anew. And I have no doubt that without him, I wouldn't be Hokage. Now you want me to send him away, for serving this village faithfully, based on little more than a rumor. I don't know what I did to convince people I'd make a good Hokage, but I'm pretty sure making stupid choices wasn't a factor. Unless you can provide a concrete reason for Enten to leave, I'm not forcing him to go anywhere."

"You don't have to. I'll leave."

Everyone turned to see Enten standing in the doorway. It escaped no one's notice that he was wearing the signature black and orange jumpsuit that his father had last been seen in. But there would be no mistaking Enten for his father this day. For carved into his forehead, by his very own fingernails, most likely, was a still bloody Konoha leaf with a scratch through it.

"I've had it with this village," he whispered. "My father was treated like a monster when he was just an innocent child. My mother was abandoned by her own so-called family. My sister was even forced to renounce her family name for the sake of this village. Well, there won't be a fourth chance with me. We all know there's no one in this village that can beat me, and as soon as this meeting is over, I'm gone for good."

"He will not go alone," Sayuri added firmly. She shared a brief look with Enten before turning to Irihi. "You may add the entire Uchiha Clan to the list of missing-nin. Again."

Enten chuckled grimly. "Congratulations, Isai. You just dismantled two of Konoha's most powerful clans, all for that dumb scratch on your face. There's no way Temari will stay once she hears about this. I'm sure you'll be able to pick up our slack somehow, you being a very talented chuunin and all."

The only thing keeping Isai in his seat was Hanako applying a great deal of pressure to his foot. That he was the only one on his team that hadn't made jounin was always a sore point for him, and everyone knew it.

"This is so STUPID!" Irihi screamed. "Would you people just... STOP!"

Enten smiled sadly at her. "Could you guys give us a moment alone? If Iri loses her temper, I'm one of the few people that could take a serious hit from her with little trouble."

The room cleared out quickly, but they could both sense that Sayuri and Tsuki were just outside the door.

"You don't have to go, Enten," Irihi said at once.

"Yeah, I do," he sighed. "People don't forgive, they just grow more stupid, and this village is living proof. When you're tired of ruling a bunch of knuckleheads, I'll send Sayuri back for you, so you don't have to make the trip to Suna alone. Although, if Gaara oji-sama declares war, you might want to retire a little early. You know how cranky he gets when family's mistreated."

Irihi considered that. "I guess I could retire right now."

"You shouldn't. At least give them some warning, so they have a chance to find a competent replacement. Then they can't claim I kidnapped you or poisoned your mind, or something completely weird like that."

"I really hoped I could change things here," Irihi murmured.

"You did, Iri," Enten assured her, giving her a hug. "Tsuki and I would never have joined the village if you hadn't been in charge. And Michio formed that new mountain just so there'd be a place to put your giant face."

"Best birthday present I ever got," Irihi chuckled. "I just wish he'd asked someone before he did it. The council is still on my back about that."

After a moment, Enten's smile faded. "So I guess this is the last time I'll see you for a while. Make sure Tsuki doesn't try to follow me before she's taken care of things with the Hyuuga. You're the only one she'll listen to now. And just so you know, I'll be looking up Michio before we head to Suna."

"Oh? Why?"

Enten shrugged. "Well, I didn't do anything wrong, and they wanted me gone. I don't exactly trust them to stay loyal to you much longer. So I'm just going to ask him and the rest of his clan to stay close to the village. Just in case."

"Okay. Tell him I said thanks." Irihi hesitated before turning away from him. "Bye, Enten." She closed her eyes as she felt his powerful arms sliding around her waist.

"Bye, Iri," he said quietly. "And don't think of it as me leaving. I'm just going to live with another branch of the family, like Michio's people did. You're still my Iri nee-chan. Nobody can change that."

And then, with a slight shift of the air, he was gone.

Irihi suddenly understood why Naruto and Hinata had left the village. They'd done it to protect their children from incidents just like this. Enten and Tsuki had only become Leaf-nin to support Irihi. She'd needed strong, loyal ninja to cement her leadership, and the twins had stepped up without even being asked. Tsuki had kept the Hyuuga in line as their new clan head, and Enten had quieted anyone who questioned Irihi's judgment by completing S-ranked missions almost exclusively.

She had always assumed that Naruto and Hinata told their children nothing about how the village worked, but it was quite the opposite. The twins had known exactly what they'd have to do for acceptance, if they chose to become Leaf-nin. And they'd also known that one or both of them might never get it at all.

* * *

"Congratulations. You have all passed the first stage of the chuunin exams."

The three genin blinked and slowly picked themselves up off of the floor. Hanako was particularly pale, Isai relieved, and Irihi puzzled.

"But... I didn't do anything, oba-sama," Irihi murmured.

"But you did, Irihi," Hanabi corrected. "You allowed Enten to go, when you had the power and ability to keep him in Konoha. Had you done so, it would have only taken the right collection of people to turn the village against you. Then you would've lost your title, your family, and your village."

"And, um, what did I do?" Isai asked, glancing nervously at Hanako. "Since we're already discussing it, I mean."

"You found the courage to face one of your greatest inner struggles," Hanabi replied. "And you also learned the danger of waiting too long to act wisely."

"And me?" Hanako asked quietly, lowering her head.

"You, Hanako, have learned the hardest lesson of all." Hanabi reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "History often repeats itself. But I am glad to see that you have learned from your father's mistakes."

"But I didn't!" Hanako protested. "I did the same thing-"

"You most certainly did not," Hanabi interrupted firmly. "You waited for the right moment, the only proper moment to do such a thing. You gave everything you had for this village. Not for personal gain, not for status, not for acknowledgement. You did it because you had to. Although I suspect that getting revenge made it much easier."

"But... these things won't actually happen to any of us. Right?" Irihi whispered.

Hanabi stared at her. "Even if I could see the future, Irihi, I would not tell you that. It is true that my 'dreams' were just that. But each of them has a very firm basis in reality. If those events should happen to actually occur, then at least you know precisely what you need to do. Being prepared for the worst is often all you will ever truly need to succeed. Now, the three of you should get going. Your next exam site is the Forest of Death. I trust you know the way."

The three genin slowly walked out of the room, only to bump into a rather pale Michio, accompanied by his sisters.

"Wow, you guys look terrible," Miki observed bluntly. "I guess we were lucky to get Kaneda-sensei for our proctor. All I had to do was sneak Irihi out of the village before ANBU executed her."

Irihi's eyes widened considerably. "What?"

"Yeah, and Michio had to fight Akatsuki after they killed you all. I guess he made out okay, but he hasn't said anything since." Miki reached up and patted her brother's arm soothingly.

"What about you, Miwa?" Isai asked, looking at the older girl.

Miwa sneered at him. "I had to torture you without killing you."

Isai stared at her in disbelief. "Huh?"

Miwa rolled her eyes. "Apparently you used some genjutsu on the pinkhead that made her seduce my dumb brother, and while his guard was down, a bunch of freaks in capes kidnapped him. And since you were the only one who knew where they took him, I had to beat it out of you without actually killing you in the process. Wasn't easy."

"I'll say," Miki agreed. "I never would've thought you had enough patience to figure out something complicated like that, nee-san. Usually you just charge in and beat up whatever moves."

Miwa smirked. "I said it wasn't easy. Never said I didn't enjoy myself."

"I think I'll go throw up now," Isai muttered, heading for the nearest restroom.

"Right behind you," Michio sighed, looking very green all of a sudden as he followed Isai.

"Wimps," Miwa grunted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Irihi wasn't so disturbed that she didn't notice Hanako blushing like mad, though.

* * *

Throughout her life, the snow white fox known as Hikari had been something of a rarity. Despite being the oldest and wisest of her brood, she had also been the first to die protecting it. But she did not resent her siblings for this; they had each honored her sacrifice, and had gone on to become great and noble foxes in their own right. She was proud of them, and she knew her choice had been a wise one.

But then she was faced with the problem of what to do in her afterlife. Being dead, she had been given the expected option of looking over her family. This being no longer necessary, she was running out of options.

And then Kyuubi had summoned her from an entirely different plane of existence. It was a difficult journey, to say the least, but one simply did not ignore Kyuubi. Even those already dead had plenty to fear from his claws.

Thankfully, Kyuubi had not wanted anything that was beyond her ability to give. Actually, what he'd asked was quite simple, if not a bit confusing.

He wanted her to become a child's imaginary friend.

At least, that was what she HAD become. Kyuubi had said "guardian," although now that she thought back on it, Hikari wondered if maybe this had been his intent all along. She certainly wouldn't have put it past one such as him.

The job was not at all difficult. She was simply required to watch the child called Uzumaki Tsuki, but never to interfere in her life unless it was deemed absolutely necessary.

The job was also thankless. Tsuki could not see Hikari, or even sense her presence, for that matter. This was partially due to Hikari being from another world entirely, but mostly because seeing spirits was usually considered a bad thing.

So Hikari had been a bit startled when Tsuki's brother began murmuring greetings under his breath, and leaving small plates of food out in the yard for her. Hikari could not eat them, but she knew a tribute when she saw one. She still had no idea how Enten could see her, but she knew he could. Often he would sit around and do nothing but stare at her as she watched Tsuki play with her dolls. And when Tsuki had noticed, he had to say something to explain himself.

As a result, soon Hikari had both twins talking to her, even if only Enten took it seriously. Tsuki even tried to pet her sometimes. Hikari couldn't feel it, but just as with the food, she appreciated the thought behind the effort. And if the twins weren't worried about being thought insane for talking to a dead fox that other people couldn't see, that was fine with her.

She found herself liking the whole family over time. Kyuubi's host always took time to speak to her, as he was the only one who could hear her responses. And if he was away, then his mate's hound would translate for them so she could speak in his place. They were kind, good people, so Hikari had no problem with watching over Tsuki. She had asked after Enten once, and Kyuubi had scoffed. Apparently the thought of a male child needing a guardian was insulting to him. Certainly Kyuubi could have demanded something much more challenging of her, so Hikari considered herself extremely lucky.

Therefore, she was surprised when Naruto came to her one day and asked for a favor.

"Tsuki's cousin is participating in the chuunin exams today. She'll be going into the Forest of Death. I know it's not your job, but could I ask you to keep an eye on her while she's in there? Tsuki will be with me, so you don't need to worry about her for a few days. And before you ask, Kyuubi said it was up to you, so no trouble there."

Hikari thought for a moment. "She is a rather curious child. And I have been wanting a change of pace."

"Great! Oh, and say hi to Houkou for me, would you?"

Hikari stopped short. "Why would I speak to him?"

"Aw, don't tell me you hate dogs, Hikari-chan. You spend half your time sitting next to Akamaru!"

"That is different. He is tame, and he respects the boundaries of the dead." Which was a formal way of saying he didn't try to roll through her.

"Houkou is just a much bigger Akamaru. And he's really nice!" Naruto insisted. "Just tell him you're there to look after Irihi, and you won't have any trouble."

Hikari glared at him. "You are very lucky that I'm already dead, Naruto-sama. But I will do as you have asked. Reluctantly."

Naruto grinned brightly. "Thanks, Hikari-chan! You know, if you weren't dead, I'd summon you all the time!"

Hikari was not exactly sure that was a compliment, so she merely walked away before she had time to think about it, her two long, white tails swishing behind her.

**End of Part 5.**

* * *

Endnotes:

Hikari: light

Kaneda's "immovable jutsu" isn't a bloodline limit, obviously, since it can be taught to non-relatives. Think of it as being in the same vein as water-walking: tricky to learn, and requiring very good chakra control.

Miki's scrolls contain sealed logs, lots of them. As stated, she uses them primarily for training, but there are other uses (sitting, throwing, playing fetch).

I can respect the idea of a written test for ninja. But honestly, how often do you see Naruto and his pals write ANYTHING? Their penmanship could be horrible, and they'd still be great ninja! Anyway. I thought up a test that I felt was slightly more suited to determine if they had the mindset of a ninja. Looking underneath the underneath, and things like that.

Also, I'm going to refer to Hanabi's answer if you ask if the dreams will come true. Just don't be surprised if something in a later chapter seems oddly familiar.

To be clear, Hikari is a fox spirit. She no longer has a physical body. Dogs can see her because dogs ALWAYS get wind of the freaky stuff first in the movies, so they're cool like that. Really, it's just because they have better senses than humans.

Sayuri's dream jutsu:

**Thorn of the Lily**: A sharp blade composed entirely of solidified poison. Upon making contact with a foe, the blade can instantly be dissolved into liquid form in order to more quickly spread its lethal effects throughout the foe's bloodstream. Similar in appearance to Chidori, but lacking in sheer power, speed, and chakra use, which also makes it much easier to aim effectively, since even a graze can prove deadly.

Hanako's dream jutsu:

**All Gates Release**: A near simultaneous opening of all eight chakra gates in the body, resulting in a temporary power boost that catapults the user beyond even the Kage level, but at the cost of the user's life.

**Clone Great Explosion (Bunshin Daibakuha)**: This jutsu works in combination with a Shadow Clone, which will explode on command, potentially killing or injuring those caught in the blast. Using more than one would probably be considered overkill in most cases.

Disclaimer: Hyuuga Irihi, Haruno Hanako, Yamanaka Isai, Inuzuka Miki, Inuzuka Miwa, Inuzuka Michio, Kaneda, Uchiha Sayuri, Uzumaki Enten, Uzumaki Tsuki, Hikari, and Aburame Shinju belong to me. All other characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


End file.
